


Housekeeping

by lvmehtme



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alive Hale Family, Anal Sex, Crossdressing, Family Feels, Knotting, M/M, Rimming, Slow Build, Underage Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-26 08:00:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 34
Words: 105,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2644235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvmehtme/pseuds/lvmehtme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek is a busy novelist with no time to care about or clean up his house. When he's made aware of the condition of his house he turns to a housekeeping agency for help. </p><p>Stiles is having financial troubles and takes on a load of jobs to help him and his father get by.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't know how these note thingys work since this is only my second story being posted on ao3 so please bear with me. I'll try and update every so often and in less quantity than last time since that was a little overwhelming.  
> Enjoy!

Derek really didn’t want to do this. He’d tried doing it on his own but to no avail. It was terrible. He needed to hire someone for this.

A couple of weeks ago he’d gotten a surprise visit from his older sister Laura which had not gone well simply because his house was an absolute disaster. Trash bags were piled high along the walls and some piles had grown until they reached halfway up the walls and were spilling into the messy walkways. His kitchen was completely unreachable with the sheer amount of trash and _things_ piled absolutely everywhere.

“You are absolutely disgusting!” his sister had yelled at him where he was trying to ignore her and write the next chapter to his latest novel. A book was thrown at the back of his head and she somehow managed to nail him with the thick spine of the book.

“Laura, it doesn’t bother me and how I live is no concern of yours.” He growled and turned around in his comfy swivel chair to glare at his sister. “No one ever comes over, except for you this one time, so I have no need to keep up appearances.”

Laura was fuming, face red and puckered with anger. “I don’t care that it doesn’t bother you. You could live in a dung heap and not care, which you practically are. Appearances don’t even matter! I’m saying this because this isn’t good for you! This _mess_ is unhealthy!” Laura paused and looked around at the mess and Derek watched with suspicion as her face transformed and lit up with an idea.

“Laura, I don’t care what you say. I’m fine. I’m not going to change just because you…”

“What would mom say if she saw this?” Laura interrupted, a smug face taking over her angry one. “What about dad?”

She whipped out her cell phone and was clicking away photos before Derek could launch himself at his sister. Quickly she raced from the room, snapping photos of the rest of the house on the way to the front door, carefully avoiding tripping over the trash. Once she was standing on the doorstep she turned around and snapped a photo of Derek stalking after her over the trash piles, showing the entirety of the mess.

“Hold it, all I have to do is hit the send button and both of them’ll know.” Laura said, holding the phone close to her person, protecting it.

Derek let out a snarl, exposing sharp canines but stopped just before the doorway. “Laura.” He said threateningly low. “They swore to stay out of my personal life as long as I checked in every now and again to tell them how I am. I’m fine. They don’t need to see my house.”

“Well, I certainly think they do. This is absolutely appalling and you know how much they like cleanliness. Besides,” she continued with an evil glint in her eye, “they want to see you bring someone home soon. They’ve been talking about it for a while now, I’m sure they’ve talked to you about getting a girlfriend at least once.”

Derek growled and bared his teeth. “I don’t need anyone. _I’m fine_.” He snarled again.

Laura straight up laughed and put her phone in her purse before reaching out to pat his cheek. “You keep telling yourself that. I’m sure eventually you’ll come to see that it’s a total lie.” She said condescendingly.

“Just…leave me alone. I don’t need someone to tell me how to live. If you’re so concerned about the trash I’ll fix it.”

“Fix it as in throw it into your backyard like I know you’ve been doing when it gets too much or fix it as in actually cleaning up and making it presentable?”

“Whatever. Keep mom and dad out of this. And Cora.” He tacked on as an afterthought because if she told his parents his mom would probably come marching over here herself and he really didn’t need that, especially while working on his book.

“How about I come and check on you again next month.” She stated, not even asking. “I expect it to be spotless! Bye Der-bear!” she said and swiftly planted a kiss on his stunned cheek before skipping to her car and disappearing through the trees down his long driveway.

Derek had stood there for a few minutes longer, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. Rapidly he turned on his heel and stared at the mess of his house. Laura expected him to have this _spotless_ in only a _month_?! What kind of wolfsbane laced drugs was she on to think he could do all that while also working on his book in a _month?!_

Slowly he turned back around and shut the door and locked it before trudging back to his room and sitting back down in front his laptop, staring at the sentence he’d been writing when he’d been interrupted so rudely. He was never going to get this done. He groaned loud and long and settled his face into his hands.

Tomorrow, he’d start tomorrow, but right now he just needed to get this chapter done and sleep. He hadn’t slept the night before since the ideas had been flowing. Now though he was quickly drying up on his inspiration. Damn it Laura!

The anger had his fingers flying over the keys, words speeding across the page as he tuned out everything else.

After that unpleasant visit he spent days procrastinating or only doing a little bit at a time, picking up his room first by simply shoved all the trash out into the corridor. He always went out to pick up take-out since he couldn’t use his kitchen anyways so he mainly only had to pick up a bunch of empty food containers or chip bags or wrappers of some sort.

Two weeks later saw only a few piles cleaned up and only another two weeks before Laura was due back. He’d hardly been able to concentrate on his novel because of this stupid cleaning and nothing had even changed! After staring at the horrid mess for another hour he finally admitted he had a problem. How could he have let it get this bad? From his room it never really looked all that bad and was easy enough to ignored but once he really started digging around he was more than a little disgusted to find that ants and varies other bugs had made his house their home as well.

Finally he gave up and plopped down in front of his laptop and opened up a new tab, typing in ‘ _house cleaning_ ’ and groaned at the number of results. Deleting his search he typed in a new one. ‘ _Housekeeping, hired help, Beacon Hills_ ’ and even though the number of results hadn’t really gone down the first few results that popped up looked promising to help him with his problem. The first one was actually a fetish site offering to send out a ‘maid’ to help ‘clean his house’ and ‘take care of all his other problems’. He quickly backed out of that site and clicked the next one. This one was actually what he was looking for.

‘ _Not enough time to clean up? Too much work to do? No problem! Order one of our employees and we’ll have your place in no time! Call 111-111-1111 now to get in house help for a low hourly fee!_ ’ Derek scrunched his nose at the cheesy advertising but quickly picked up his cell phone to punch in the number.

 _“Thank you for calling **Picker Upper’s in-House Housekeeping**! This is Pam, how may I help you?”_ an annoyingly fake cheery tone buzzed through the earpiece.

“Hi, I need some help cleaning my house. I hadn’t realized it’d gotten so…bad.” Derek growled through the phone, regretting calling and embarrassed but knowing he couldn’t do this on his own.

_“No problem! What kind of cleaning do you need done? Is it the full house or just a bit of the house?”_

“Uhm, well, the full house. I need every kind of cleaning done actually. Also, whoever you send has to be ok with ants…and beetles…and just bugs, ok? It’s a really big job.”

_“Uh huh. Do you care about the gender of your picker upper? We don’t have many employees who can deal with bugs in general.”_

“I don’t care, as long as they do a good job.”

_“Alright, then before we go any further I’ll have to register you into the system so that when your picker upper is done they’ll get paid appropriately. How would you like to pay, cash, credit, or check?”_

“Do you take Visa?” Derek asked and retrieved his wallet from his bedside table.

_“Yes we do! I’ll need your name, number, address, email, and card number.”_

“Derek Hale, 212-212-2121, 1234 General Road, derekhale@email.com, and 1234 5678 9101. Is that all?” **(Hurray for generic number/name thingy!)**

_“Let me get you into the system and see who’s available. When would you like them to start?”_

“Today if possible. If not then tomorrow.”

_“Please hold for one moment while I check to see picker upper availabilities.”_

Derek’s ear was immediately filled with horrid elevator music and pulled the phone away from his ear, set it onto the table and started browsing through the site. There wasn’t much to it, just going through basic services provided, where they were located, and a couple picker uppers who were on the ‘most recommended’ list. They were all females but that didn’t really surprise him, nor did he care. The music cut off a few minutes later and he instantly put the phone back to his ear.

_“Alright, we have a picker upper about half an hour from your location that fits your needs. If you’d like I can give them a call for you and call you back as soon as I hear from them to make sure that you’re available to receive your picker upper!”_

“That’s fine.”

_“Great! Thank you for choosing **Picker Upper’s in-Housekeeping**! You’ll be hearing from us regularly while the picker upper is in your care. I’ll email you the rules and guidelines for housing a picker upper and as soon as it’s signed, sent back, and approved the picker upper will be on your doorstep within the day! Have a great day!”_

Without waiting for a response from Derek the line cut out and Derek was left feeling a mixture of relief and anxiety. This was the first time ever doing something like this and he wasn’t quite sure what kind of person this picker upper was supposed to be. Quickly he checked his email and the rules and guidelines were already in his inbox. Without really reading through it he signed it electronically and sent it right back. Not even five minutes passed before his confirmation pinged into his inbox saying the picker upper would be arriving at his address within the next few hours.

Derek blew out a breath and closed out of the tabs in laptop and shut it. He picked himself up out of his chair and grabbed a random shirt, underwear, and pants from the clean laundry pile he’d done a couple days ago and trudged to his bathroom which was actually pretty clean despite the rest of his house. The least he could do was make sure that he was clean even if his house wasn’t.

The hot water wasn’t working in his bathroom but he didn’t really care. The path was blocked to his other bathroom so he didn’t know if it was just his bathroom or the whole water system was busted. He was in and out of the shower in ten minutes and spent a longer time fixing up his scraggly beard into the stubble he preferred it in before exiting the bathroom. He put on deodorant and combed out his damp hair before settling into his chair and opening his laptop to type as much as he could before the picker upper got there.

It didn’t take long, much sooner than Derek expected, for the sound of a vehicle blaring obnoxiously loud music to pull into his driveway and approach his house. The doorbell was rung and a few good knocks resounded through his house before he got up so he didn’t seem like he’d been waiting anxiously for them to arrive. Quickly he saved his document and shut his computer before he went to answer the door, a scowl in place as he listened to the restless body on the other side of it. Without anything else to stall him he pulled open the door to reveal the picker upper.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Derek noticed was that the picker upper was male. The second was the close cropped, buzz-cut hair that made the boy’s head fuzzy. Next were the bright, golden eyes that shined at him from behind dark lashes. The slightly upturned nose and the plumped, bowed lips, then the smattering of moles across his pale skin. After that Derek took in the entirety of the boy, his lanky thinness, long fingers as they gripped a duffle bag in one hand and a large bucket of supplies in the other, and the awful plaid, long-sleeved shirt on top of a graphic tee over ratty blue jeans. It took him all of three seconds to assess the awkward, restless kid before turning to let him into the house.

“Ah, hi there. My name’s Stiles and you must be Derek Hale. I’d shake your hand but my hands are kind of full. Um, whoa…” the boy cut off his chattering as he took in the sight of Derek’s living room. “They weren’t kidding when they said it was a big job.”

“You can start anywhere. I don’t really have any loose objects or trinkets but before you throw something out that isn’t in a trash bag ask me. Unless it’s obviously trash, then leave me alone.” Derek said as Stiles stepped into the house and shut the door after him with a shove of his foot.

Derek locked the door behind the boy and stalked away, stepping over the piles back to his room. He shut his door against whatever noise the boy was going to make and pulled open his laptop again. There was a knock on his door before he even had time to place his fingers on the keyboard.

“What?” he yelled at the door.

“Um, sorry to bother you right off the bat but I need to know where to put all my stuff.”

“I don’t care, put it anywhere. You’re just here to clean.”

“Right, um, I’ll just…yeah, ok.”

Derek listened to the boy’s clumsy steps wander back into the living room before tuning him out and pressing the keys down under his fingers to form the next words of his novel.

Hours went by without too much noise outside of his room. A few times there’d be a rather loud curse or obnoxious singing but other than the constant rustling of bags and shuffling of feet Derek was able to ignore the fact that there was someone else encroaching on his territory.

Night fell without Derek noticing and soon there was another knock on his door followed by a long yawn. Derek had managed to get another thirty pages typed on his story and was glad with his much needed progress. He saved his document again before completely shutting off his computer for the night and getting up to open his door. Stiles stood there smelling only lightly of garbage despite how much he’d been working with it but looking thoroughly rumpled.

“Let me look at your work, and then you can go home.”

“Huh?” Stiles asked, confused, while Derek scooted around him to get a look at his progress.

It was amazing really. The piles of trash that’d been in his living room had been completely removed, leaving a still dirty but thankfully nearly empty space. The hall and kitchen hadn’t been touched yet but that was ok. That could be done tomorrow when the boy arrived again to resume his work.

“Good job. How many hours was that?”

“A little over five.” Stiles answered from right behind him.

Derek turned and nodded at him. “Alright. What time are you getting here tomorrow?”

Stiles gave him a slightly baffled look as if he were slightly stupid and asking stupid questions. “You did look over the contract, right?”

“I skimmed over it. Why?”

“You know what ‘picker upper in-house housekeeping’ means right? It means we housekeep _in_ the house. It’s required for the contractor to provide lodging for the employee, me.”

Derek frowned long and hard at Stiles, making the boy shift from foot to foot uncomfortably. “I don’t remember reading that anywhere.”

“Yeah, because you _skimmed_ through it. It states in, like, the second paragraph of the rules and guidelines that the picker upper is to be provided with all the accommodations of the employer.”

Derek growled low in his throat making Stiles take a startled step back. Pulling out his phone Derek pulled up his email and checked the rules and guidelines he hadn’t really read and to his displeasure it was right there in paragraph two just like the kid had said.

“Damn it.” He said and stalked past the fidgety boy and into his room to quickly pull out a few blankets from his closet and a spare pillow he almost never used.

“Uh, you know it’s cool, I don’t have to stay here. I can just call up the company and tell them what’s up and we can set you up with someone who can do commute. I just can’t ‘cause I don’t have the money for gas or food.”

“No. You’re already here. I should’ve looked over the contract more thoroughly and yes it’s an inconvenience but I can deal with it. I don’t have a spare bed but since my room is the only clean room you can sleep on the floor.”

Stiles grimaced but accepted the blankets and pillow thrust at him. “Yeah, I guess that would work. I haven’t even seen inside your room yet.”

“It’s nothing much.”

Derek was a little tense when Stiles stepped into his room and immediately walked over to the bookshelf in the back corner to peruse through his books and CDs, then briefly looking in the closet before settling to stand beside the bed.

“You really don’t have much. I was able to take a look in your kitchen and other rooms and there was seriously nothing in there! What do you eat?”

“Take-out. Hurry up and set up so I can turn out the light.”

“Ah, right, bed. Dude, you have a gigantic bed by the way.” Stiles commented as he laid one blanket on the floor then the other blanket on top of that before climbing under the top one and stuffing the pillow under his head, still fully clothed.

Derek flicked the light out and shucked his jeans but kept his grey Henley and black boxers on before climbing into his bed. There was some rustling on the floor but he ignored it as best he could, trying to sleep so that he could get through the next few days or however long it took for the boy to finish cleaning. There was only ten more days until Laura came back to check on his house. He needed the boy done and gone before she got there so that he could get rid of his smell. If Laura knew that someone else had cleaned his house there’d be even more ammo to use against him for his mom and dad. Then they’d insist he move back in with all of them and he just couldn’t take that overcrowded, rowdy house. He’d never get anything done.

“What are we doing for breakfast? You don’t have any food. I can cook you know, so as soon as I get the kitchen cleared out I can totally cook the meals.”

“I’ll drive to the store to get breakfast. Go to sleep.”

“Right, right, sleep.” Stiles yawned. “I’m really tired but I’m not used to this place so it’s hard to sleep. You ever get that? The inability to sleep even though you’re really tired?”

“Yes, right now is a prime example. Just shut up and close your eyes. You’ll sleep faster that way.”

Stiles gave a suffering sigh and shifted some more under his blanket but thankfully didn’t say anything else. Derek finally settled back in to sleep but now his mind was awake again. He listened to the boy’s heart as he slowly fell into sleep. It was weird having another person in his house, let alone in his room. Laura had just barged in two weeks ago but he’d voluntarily let this boy in, had asked him even! Derek felt pretty pathetic at this point though and just had to suck it up if he wanted Laura off his back.

After another fifteen minutes or so of clearing his head Derek finally fell into a fitful sleep, waking a few times during the night because of the oddity of having someone else in his house.

The morning alarm went off on his phone exactly at seven and woke Derek from a dreamless sleep. The boy was still asleep on his floor, sprawled out with half of his body uncovered by the blanket. Derek scrubbed a hand over his face and frowned at the tiredness in his body. He hadn’t really slept all too well and wasn’t quite ready to face the day yet but oh well, he had to suck it up.

Climbing out of bed he yawned and stretched, popping a couple of joints before heading to the bathroom. He used the toilet before washing his face and brushing his teeth. He fixed his hair quickly by carding his fingers through it before heading out again. Quickly he tugged on a clean change of clothes and his shoes. Stiles was in the exact same position and didn’t look to be moving so he grabbed his keys and wallet and headed for the door.

The drive to the donut shop was quick and he picked up an orange juice for the kid and a coffee for himself along with a dozen different donuts before heading back. When he unlocked the door and slammed it behind him the kid was just making his way out of his room, scratching at his belly and yawning loudly.

“Duuude, it’s way early in the morning. How are you awake right now? Did you even sleep last night ‘cause I feel like a zombie and we crashed pretty early? Are those donuts?”

Derek watched awareness crawl through the kid and he just rolled his eyes and held out the donut box with the orange juice on top.

“Sweeeeet. You are too good to me. Mmmm.” Stiles moaned as he grabbed the box with one hand and the cup with the other hand and sat right down there on the floor.

“Save a glazed and chocolate for me.” Derek said as he stepped around him and into his room.

Despite how tired Stiles had looked coming out of his room he’d actually folded up the blankets and put them and the pillow in a neat pile in the corner of the room. This kid wasn’t actually all that bad, except for the incessant talking and overall jitteriness. At least he knew how to do his job.

“These are amazing! The sprinkle donuts with the pink icing are my favorite! The white ones too!” Stiles yelled at him from outside the door and Derek just rolled his eyes.

Derek booted up his laptop and pulled up his novel document and started re-read through the last paragraphs to pick up where he’d left off before putting his fingers to the keyboard and began typing again. He only got through a page and a half before Stiles knocked on his open door. He turned around to look at him who was holding out the donut box and looking content.

“I left half for you. Thanks for breakfast and the juice. It was great. Do you think that I could shower real quick before I get to work? I feel kinda grubby.”

Derek nodded and pointed to the bathroom. “You can leave the box of donuts on my bed. I’ll eat them later.”

“Okey, I’ll just do that then.”

The boy walked over to his bag and grabbed a change of clothes, his toiletry bag, and a towel before disappearing into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. The water started and Derek could hear the boy undress before he stepped into the stream of water and let out a loud yelp.

“Dude! You could have warned me about your water!” Stiles yelled.

A smirk lifted on Derek’s lips and he shook his head as he continued typing. He sipped at his coffee as he continued typing. Soon he was lost in the words and didn’t even notice when Stiles came back out of the bathroom with a peeved look on his face.

“You need to get your water lines checked.” He grumbled at Derek as he stuffed his dirty clothes into a plastic grocery bag he took out of his bag before shoving it back in.

“I don’t really care.”

“Well, what if you catch a cold? You’ll just get sicker if you shower or bathe in that water. What if your girlfriend comes over and she needs a shower? She’ll have to freeze in that freakishly cold water!”

Derek just shook his head. “No one ever comes over here.”

“Aw, that’s just sad. So you always have to go over to her house whenever you meet? Well, I guess with the way that your house is I guess I can understand.”

“No, I mean I never see anyone.” Derek turned a stern glare on Stiles where he was zipping up his bag. “I don’t date.”

Stiles threw him a pitying glance which Derek returned with a glare. Stiles held up his hands and shook his head.

“Ok, ok, dropping it. I won’t pry into your sad and lonely life.”

There was a hint of humor there but Stiles was already running from the room by the time that Derek turned to berate him.

“Shut up and get to work!” he yelled out to him and simply got a quick laugh in response.

Derek shook his head and quick saved his progress before getting up and picking up the box of donuts on his bed and sitting down, pulling open the box. There were two chocolate, two glazed, one apple fritter, and a sugar coated donut left in the box. He’d eaten all the sprinkle donuts. Derek lifted a chocolate one to his mouth and bit into its sugary goodness. He loved pretty much all foods but adored sweets. It was completely contradictory to his looks and he rarely indulged in sweets but when he did it was like bliss. He quickly devoured the chocolate and glazed donuts but savored the sugar coated donut and apple fritter. After washing it all down with the last of his lukewarm coffee he went back to typing.  

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

He was almost on his last leg of the novel but there was still so much left to do. First he had to finish it then he had to re-read it and after he’d read all the way through it at least once if not twice he had to go back through it and edit any mistakes. After that he had to add in or take out parts to make the story better or change entire sections or just little sentences or words. After he did that he re-read all the way through it once more to make sure it sounded right, exactly how he wanted it and if it didn’t work then he’d have to edit that part. It was a long process that took at least a month or so to complete since all of his books were three hundred pages minimum.

Around noon he saved his work again and shut his computer before he went out to see how the boy was doing. The hallway leading to the stairs that led upstairs was clear but he could still see trash gathered in the rooms. He grimaced and wondered how the hell he’d managed to accumulate _so_ much trash! But then he really thought about it; it only took him a week to fill a trash bag with take-out containers and wrappers and other trash and he’d been neglecting cleaning for at least a year if not longer. Wow, he had a problem.

Swiftly he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to Laura saying: **I swear I’ll never let it get this bad again**.

And he really meant it. Before Laura had forced him to wake up and look at what he was doing he’d been perfectly content with this but he really wondered how long it would’ve taken to fill the house to the roof with trash and what it would’ve taken to clean that up. He shuddered at just the thought. The phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down at Laura’s reply.

**Damn right you won’t. Let me see the progress.**

Derek went over to the open front door and took a picture of the clean living room, making sure not to get the hallway so his sister didn’t get suspicious. He sent it saying: **It’s a work in progress**.

Her reply was a bunch of exclamation marks followed by: **You still have the entire kitchen to go! Pick up the pace baby brother!**

 **Yeah, yeah. Just be glad I’m doing it.** He sent back and pocketed his phone, not bothering to read the return text. Or the one after that. Or the one that arrived not three seconds after those two.

“Hey kid! What do you want for lunch!” he yelled down the hall where he could hear him rooting around in one of the rooms.

“Dude! Did you know that you have a keyboard back here! I found some seriously cool stuff in this room!” his muffled voice came from the back left room.

“That’s great. Answer the question.” He demanded as he walked down the hallway and leaned against the doorframe of the room to see the kid staring at a set of bongos he’d forgotten he had. “Hey kid!” he yelled again just to see him startle, which he did with great flailing.

“Dude! Don’t scare me like that! You move like a cat!” Derek snorted at the irony. “Besides, I’m not a kid.”

“You are very much a kid. Now answer the question, what do you want for lunch?”

“Uh, I don’t know. What can I have?”

Derek shrugged. “I don’t care as long as it’s quick.”

“Can I have a burger with extra cheese and a double helping of curly fries from that really awesome burger joint, like, fifteen minutes away?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back in half an hour. Don’t break anything.”

Stiles looked offended at the implication but just waved a hand at him. “I won’t. Hurry back, I’m starving.”

Derek rolled his eyes and left him to his discovering and cleaning. They still had nine days to get the place clean but he wanted the kid out as soon as possible. He grabbed his keys and headed out to his Camaro and quickly drove down his gravel driveway and sped to the first intersection since the street he lived in wasn’t really close to the town. A good ten minute drive going the speed limit at least, he estimated.

The burger joint was ten minutes away going about ten miles per hour above the speed limit and he was thankfully one of the only customers there on this slow Tuesday afternoon. Derek ordered Stiles order then got a double patty burger with the works and a side of cheese fries to go for himself.

The ride back was filled with sounds of both his car and his stomach rumbling and if he pressed the gas a little harder, then no one but him and the car would know about it. The door was open when he got back and trash bags were piled next to the boy’s Jeep. The boy himself was banging around in the house so much that Derek could hear it with the car still on. It was even more pronounced when he turned the car off and climbed out with the bags of food.

Stiles was singing at a ridiculous level with ear buds connected to his IPod plugged into his head. He was in the process of shoving trash bags around in the kitchen and didn’t hear Derek come in. Derek just stood there against the wall just inside the kitchen and waited for the boy to turn around. When he finally got to turning around the horrid singing turned into a horrid screech as he tugged the music out of his ears.

“Dude! I told you not to scare me like that! It’s a terrible, terrible thing to do! Nearly gave me a…” Stiles bit his words off as sadness and bitterness soured the air.

Derek gave him a funny look but just held out the bag of food containing his burger and curly fries. “You wouldn’t have heard me even if I’d said anything. Take a break and eat.”

“Yeah, sounds good. What’d you get?” Stiles asked as he took his back and peered inside, his stomach growling when the savory scents of his meal met his nose.

“Food.” Derek answered sarcastically and turned to walk into his room and wasn’t all that surprised when Stiles followed him.

Derek sat on the bed and Stiles sat on the floor, which Derek was grateful for since he didn’t want a mess on his bed. When he pulled out his food Stiles’ mouth gaped.

“Duuude, you gotta let me try that. It looks amazing! How did I not know that they made those?!” he gasped like it was the worst folly of the century.

“Get your own next time and quit calling me dude, I have a name.” Derek growled and bit into his burger.

“Then quit calling me kid.” Stiles retorted and bit into his burger, moaning like a wanton whore at the taste. “Mmmm, sooo good! Have I told you that you’re too good to me?” he mumbled around his mouthful before taking another bite and stuffing his cheeks like a chipmunk.

Derek didn’t reply and was content to simply eat in silence. Stiles devoured his burger fast and sat munching on his fries while Derek savored each bite, taking it slow to fill up his stomach at a slower rate so he didn’t feel hungry afterwards. As soon as he was finished he gathered up his trash and held it out to Stiles who took it without hesitation.

“Get back to work.”

“Slave driver.” Stiles said under his breath but snickered to show he wasn’t serious.

“I’m paying you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Stiles said and left the room to start working once more.

Derek just shook his head and got back to work on his novel. Things were going surprisingly smooth, he hadn’t expected that. He’d expected hassling from the picker upper, asking a bunch of personal questions and getting all up in his business but Stiles wasn’t like that. Sure he asked a lot of questions and was kind of goofy but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

Things were quiet for a few hours until Stiles complained about being hungry again and this time Derek took him with him when he went out to the town to get some food at a Thai restaurant. Once they were full of khao phat kung (fried rice with shrimp), pad thai (noodles with shrimp and other ingredients), and kai jiew moo saap (a type of omelet), they headed back to the house to do just a bit more work before heading off to bed.

The next few days were pretty much the same. Stiles talked more and more each day as he grew comfortable with Derek and Derek sometimes actually talked back. Derek had asked where all the trash bags had been going and Stiles told him that he was taking a bunch of trips to the dump only twenty minutes away every time his Jeep got so full that he could only _just_ drive safely without the help of his center mirror. Derek actually helped some as well on the fourth day Stiles was there.

“You don’t have to do that, it’s what I’m being paid for.”

“Well if it wasn’t for my neglect it wouldn’t have gotten this bad.” Derek had argued and they’d left it at that until Derek decided to go back to his own work.

On the sixth day that Stiles was there they’d managed to clear out all of the trash from both upstairs and down and Stiles was in the process of chemically cleaning every surface he could. The ants were still rampant in the kitchen but there were only a few beetles left. They’d mainly crawled into one or two bags and stayed there and had gone with Stiles, double wrapped in trash bags, to the dump.

“You’re going to have to use the ant spray later ‘cause that stuff makes me wheeze like hell. My dad sprayed outside my window once and for a while there we thought I was asthmatic it was so bad.”

“You seem sad when you talk about your dad. Why?”

Derek hadn’t meant to pry but the bitter sadness that kept rolling off of Stiles was affecting him almost as much as it was affecting Stiles now. Stiles looked at him, startled, before looking down at the bug spray in his hands.

“Uh, well, he’s kind of the reason I have this job. Not that he forced me into it or anything but…we’ll really need the money soon and I’m trying to save up as much as I can.”

Derek frowned at the roundabout way he explained it but just nodded instead of prying further. “Ok, I won’t pry. I just…don’t like the sadness.”

Stiles gave a startled laugh and looked up at him with wide, sad eyes. “Well then you won’t like me a lot ‘cause lately I haven’t been that happy. I mean, yeah, I can still act happy and experience the general feeling but it’s kinda…buried. I don’t know, it’s whatever.” He gave a short, jerky shrug with one shoulder.

Derek nodded and hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. It was the first bodily contact they’ve had during his stay here.

“I hope it gets better.” Derek said gruffly, a little awkward since he wasn’t used to comforting anyone, or talking to anyone, or being around anyone…or anything to do with anyone else really.

But Stiles seemed to take a little comfort in that and patted Derek’s hand before holding out the can of spray. “I do too. Now, let’s finish cleanin’ up this mess you’ve made.” He said with a soft smile.

The rest of the clean-up went quickly and without a hitch. By the end of the seventh day everything was clean and taken care of with two days to spare before Laura came by to check on his house. Stiles was already packed up with his bag of clothes and bucket of cleaning supplies sitting by the door, ready to go. Derek was shocked to find his wolf stirring at the thought of losing a companion but quickly settled it back down, telling it that Stiles was nothing more than a stranger.

“Well, I guess that’s that then. The bill’s probably gonna be hella high though, sorry about that.” Stiles said awkwardly as they stood in front of the closed front door.

“I’m not sorry. Most of it goes to you right?”

Stiles shrugged. “I think so. Some of it has to go to the desk workers too so I’ll most likely only get fraction of the payment. It’ll be the larger fraction though. I don’t really know how they divide it. Never bothered to ask.”

“You should probably ask. It’s better to know you’re getting your effort’s worth.”

Stiles smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll ask. Let me know if you ever need a maid again and I’ll be over in a jiffy.”

Derek gave a short nod but didn’t offer any sort of confirmation beyond that.

“Well, it’s actually been really fun despite being here on a job and doing manual labor from dawn ‘til dusk.” He joked.

“You were up way after dawn every single day.”

“Close enough.” Stiles laughed before holding out his hand. “I hope we stay in contact. You’re pretty cool for a grumpy dude.”

“I’m not grumpy nor am I a ‘dude’.” Derek argued as he took Stiles’ hand in a firm hand shake.

“Dude, you totally are. You have this whole scowly thing going on, but hey! I’m not complainin’!” Stiles laughed.

“Well _kid,_ the house looks nice, thanks for that.”

“Anytime _dude_.” Stiles smiled. “See ya around.”

Derek gave a small nod and Stiles left just as quickly as he’d come, leaving Derek feeling scarily lonely in such a big open area in such a short amount of time. Feeling odd just standing there staring at his closed front door he went back to his room and threw himself into his work now that he had no more distractions.

He didn’t sleep that night, writing through the dark and into the morning light. In that bout of concentration he’d finished the last few chapters and was now left looking at the ending sentence feeling like he was just as lonesome as the sentence.

“Wow, I’m getting soft.” He muttered darkly as he saved his document and powered off his laptop.

Laura was due the day after so before he climbed into bed that evening he went through the house and opened all the windows except for the one in his room where Stiles’ scent was the strongest. He’d grown so used to him in just that one week that the empty silence made something inside him sting and his wolf restless with loneliness. He spent the day lazing around the house, wandering through all the rooms he hadn’t been in in what had to be over a year.

“Damn, maybe Laura was right, I do need someone around.”

But just the thought of a stranger in his space, his territory, his den, made his wolf growl, which made him growl. Yeah, no, he definitely didn’t need anyone else in his house. He’d just get used to the emptiness again and everything would be fine.

He stayed up until six that evening so that his sleep schedule wouldn’t be thrown off too much and crashed until his alarm woke him at seven. Thirteen hours of sleep wasn’t bad and he’d need to be as well rested as possible before he dealt with Laura.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Have a chapter.

When Laura arrived it was in a whirl of movement, sweeping through the open space of his house before saying a single hello. “Wow! Look at how clean it is! I’d forgotten how big this house was!”

“Great, you’ve seen it, now go away.”

Laura fake pouted as she sauntered back over to her brother. “Aw, but Der-bear I’m just so happy for you!” she said and put her arms around his shoulders. “Whoa, who’s been here recently?” she asked, drawing back fast.

Derek looked at her, startled. “What?”

“Derek, you smell like you’ve been rolling around with another person for days. Who is it? Who’s the lucky gal?”

Derek scoffed. “There is nobody else here. There _is_ no girl.”

“Then who do I smell _all_ over you Derek? Seriously, it smells like you’ve been swimming in their scent.”

Derek flushed as he glared darkly at his sister. Laura stared at him suspiciously before taking off to his bedroom and throwing the door wide open before Derek could tell her off.

“Oh yes, there was _definitely_ someone here recently.”

The bed was still rumpled with the blankets that Stiles had been using spread out on it that Derek had put there a day after Stiles had left.

“Go away Laura. Nothing happened, ok? There is no special someone, no one’s here, no one’s coming back, and I’m not _with_ anyone.”

“I don’t get how you can say all that like it’s true but there’s all this evidence. Unless you have a magical disappearing genie girlfriend then I’m positive someone has been here for a lengthy period of time.” She pauses and scoots in close to Derek, eyes squinted in suspicion. “It wasn’t a prostitute was it?”

“Laura! No! What is wrong with you?!” he yelled and pushed her away from him.

She just shrugs and goes over to his bed to inspect. “Well, I guess it couldn’t have been since it doesn’t smell like sex. Did you have a friend over? I didn’t know you had any friends.”

“I don’t have any friends.” The words hurt more than he thought they would and it quickly shut him up, forcing him to breathe slowly.

“Oh, Der-bear, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Laura said, serious this time and wrapped her strong arms around him. “You don’t have to tell me but I’m just glad that you finally had some social interaction. You should really get back on that playing field. Goodness knows you’d be hella good at it.”

Derek gave a humorless laugh and just shook his head, patting his sister’s arm. After a few minutes Laura sighed and unwound her arms.

“Well, whoever it was it seems like you formed quite a strong attachment. You shouldn’t let that go Derek, it’s good for you to have relationships.”

Derek glared at her. “You _know_ why I don’t, quit pushing me.”

Laura held up her hands in surrender. “I know, I know. What happened was extremely unfortunate but you have to remember that not everyone is like her. Just look at me! I have an amazing fiancé whom I will most likely marry in a year or so.”

“Not everyone is as lucky as you are Laura.”

“Sure they are! When they go out there and take risks by meeting new people and going through tough situations they’ll eventually get lucky like I have. You can do it Der-bear. Now go call whoever it was you’ve been rolling around with and stick to it.” She said sternly.

“I have _not_ been rolling around with them!” Derek bites out, hard and bitter.

“Do you _want_ to roll around with them? How do you know _they_ don’t want to if you’ve never asked? Which I know you haven’t and probably never will simply because it’s _you_.”

“Gee, thanks.” He said dryly and shook his head. “Look, Laura, you’re a great sister and I’m happy for you but I don’t want your advice. It usually gets me in trouble.”

“Ah!” Laura scoffed, mock offended. “It does not!”

Derek leveled his gaze at her. “French macarons, mud pit in ninth grade, soccer in tenth, nail polish when I was eight, coca cola when I was eleven, rope swing when I was twelve, recreational wolfsbane when I was sixteen…”

“Ok! Ok! I got it! So maybe my advice isn’t that great but I’m telling you from experience that as cliché as it sounds, there really _are_ more fish in the sea. Better, less psychotic fish I might add.”

Laura laughed but Derek just scowled at her until she gave a long suffering sigh. “Just…give it another shot, ok? It was only one really bad experience nine years ago. Nine years Derek! That’s a long time. Long enough to crawl out of this broody, sourpuss shell you’ve put yourself in. You’re punishing yourself for no reason.”

“Laura.” Derek growled threateningly. “You almost _died._ Everyone was almost _killed_ because of me.”

“It wasn’t and we aren’t. I’m alive. Kate was a psycho jealous bitchcake, ok? How were you supposed to know that the one you loved was manipulating you when she gave absolutely no hints to it before it happened?”

“Laura, I’m done. Drop it. I don’t want to talk about, ever, that’s it. I’m just…done.”

Laura backed off once she realized that she’d pushed her brother too far and nodded. “Alright, but Derek? Never’s a really long time.” She kissed him on the temple and shuffled around him and through his bedroom door.

Derek followed a second later to see her to the front door.

“I love you Der-bear. Take care. Give mom and dad a call, they miss you. And keep your friend, they seem close. See ya.”

“Love you too. See you later.”

Laura left him feeling shell-shocked in front of his door as she shut it in his face. She’d really brought up things he wished he never had to hear about again, things he’d pushed deep into his subconscious and never wanted to bring out again. But there they were, the facts about his life at its darkest just pulled up until it was like a fresh wound again.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Stiles felt dog tired on his way home after his shift at Carolina’s Diner. As he navigated the familiar roads he caught a whiff of trash that still lingered even after two days and couldn’t help but think back to his stay at Derek’s. That had been his first successful in-house job, emphasis on the _successful_ part. There was no way the first job…or the second one…counted as successful in the least. When he’d first gotten the call he’d been unsure about actually taking the job since he had the option of declining but he really needed the money. They’d said it was a high profile job in his area which meant it would be a lot of work but it would also pay really well.

Derek wasn’t anything Stiles thought he’d be. He was expecting some elderly gentleman who wasn’t able to clean for himself anymore. Instead he got a young, _hot_ , broody, _hot_ , quiet, _hot,_ gentleman. Did he mention that he was really _hot?!_ If Stiles were smoother he’d have played up his maid ‘services’ but, unfortunately, he was too much spazz and not enough suave. Besides, there was no way a guy like _that_ would go for something like _Stiles_.

Stiles knocked away that thought when a spike of hurt burst through his chest at his own words. Whatever. He was damn amazing and nobody could convince him otherwise.

By the time Stiles parked his Jeep in the driveway of his empty house his train of thought was far away from Derek and thinking more of how to put his money to use. Over the last four weeks he’d accumulated a little over a thousand dollars, working three jobs night and day. Even the jobs he’d screwed up he’d still been paid for. This last job would get him at least three hundred if not more.

As he trudged up his driveway he quickly categorized where all the money would go once the bills started flooding in. There were medical bills, mortgage bills, electric and water bills, gas bills, credit card bills. Damn, there were too many. Stiles shook his head to clear the foreboding cloud darkening in his head while he unlocked the front door and stepped into an empty house. Since his dad had gone into the hospital the house had felt less and less like home and more and more like a tomb, or the inside of a coffin. It was nearly suffocating in its emptiness.

Stiles didn’t feel like coming home anymore and was rarely home except to sleep. Any other time he could be found at either of his jobs or at the hospital. Sometimes Scott dropped by but he was busy with the summer lacrosse training season. They were about to go into their sophomore year of high school and Scott was dead set on spending his summer getting as much training in as possible so he’d make first line when school started up again. Stiles was right there with him until his dad started feeling sick.

Stiles shook off the heavy feelings weighing down his mind and chest and instead put his cleaning supplies right inside the door to the kitchen and made his way up the stairs to his room. It was early evening and he knew his stomach would start grumbling soon but right now it was in knots. So instead he kicked off his shoes and shrugged out of his jeans and shirt until he stood in the middle of his room clad in only his boxers. He let himself tumble onto his bed, bouncing a bit before settling into the familiar firmness of his mattress. A nap would do him good, especially since he’d been sleeping on the floor in an unfamiliar house for the past week.

He conked out for a good four hours before his stomach woke him with weak protests of hunger. Groaning he laid there for a bit longer, not wanting to get up, before he was forced from his bed by his persistent stomach. Yawning long and loud he trudged down to the kitchen, scratching at his stomach just above his boxers. It was times like this, lazy and unhurried, that made him feel like the sixteen year old he was meant to be, not the grown-up, mature adult he was forced to be as of late.

Slapping together a quick sandwich made out of the meager contents of his fridge, Stiles’ train of thought finally led back around to Derek. Well, the awesome food he’d gotten while at Derek’s. What he’d give to be able to eat curly fries every day. Stiles ate as he stomped back up the stairs to his room. Halfway up the stairs a sound filtered through his thoughts and the sound of his chewing and he had to pause and concentrate before he realized that was the sound of his phone going off in his room.

“Oh shit!” he cried, bounding up the stairs with his half eaten sandwich in his hand.

He made an impressive dive towards his jeans that lay in the middle of his floor and wrenched the phone out of his pocket. An unfamiliar number flashed on his screen but he answered it anyways since it could be any of his coworkers from his different jobs.

“Hello?!” he asked in a flurry, yelling in his haste.

 _“Is this Stiles?”_ a gruff, male voice filtered through the speaker.

“Yes, and who is this?”

_“Derek Hale. I called because you left something at my house.”_

“Oh, hey! I, uh, how did you get my number? I mean, what did I leave there?”

_“Your IPod.”_

“Oh, shit, you’re right. I hadn’t even noticed. I’ve been so busy these last couple of days with my other jobs that I didn’t even notice it was missing. Thanks for finding it, it was a gift for my birthday this year from my dad and I know it must’ve cost at least half his paycheck and…”

 _“Do you want me to drop it off or do you want to come and get it yourself?”_ Derek interrupted his rambling.

“Oh, um, right, sorry. Uh, I’ll come get it. I just have to check how much gas I have in the tank to see if I need to stop to get gas ‘cause I have no idea when I last filled up was.”

 _“I’ll just drop it off. What’s your address?”_ Derek interrupted once more, sounding peeved.

“Uh, 4321 Random Street. Sorry about his man, I just really don’t have much gas. I get paid next Tuesday at the diner and the Thursday after that at the carwash so I’m running kind of low on money. I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

_“I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”_

There’s a click and then the dial tone resounds in Stiles’ ear. He pulls the phone away from his ear and stares at it, confused. He hits the end button and takes a slow bite out of his forgotten sandwich. He’s chewing slowly on his last bite, still staring at the floor when he realizes he’s still nude save for his boxers.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he flounders as he rushes to pull a fresh change of clothes from his drawers.

Dashing to the bathroom Stiles jerks the handle of his shower on and jumps in despite the icy temperature. He yelps pathetically for the first couple seconds until he adjusts before quickly washing the stench of a hard day’s work off of his skin. Spending less than ten minutes in the shower he quickly towels off and pulls on his clothes, swiping deodorant under his arms and brushing his teeth in under five minutes as well. He’s out of the bathroom and rushing down the stairs when his doorbell rings. Once he’s standing in front of the door he pauses and takes a few calming breaths so he doesn’t look too flustered when he finally unlocks and opens the door.

Derek’s standing there in a dark green Henley and black jeans, a hand outstretched towards Stiles with his IPod clutched in a tight grip. It takes a moment for Stiles to realize he’s being handed anything because he’s too busy staring at Derek’s scruffy, brooding face. He looks good. Derek shakes his outstretched hand again before Stiles finally looks down at it.

“Oh, right, thanks so much for returning this. I don’t know how I could have forgotten that there. I usually keep it in my pocket but it must’ve fallen out or something.”

“It’s fine.” Derek waves off his thanks and turns back around, moving towards his car is parked beside the curb.

“Uh, wait! That’s it? You don’t want to come inside for a cup of coffee or tea or something?”

Derek pauses and turns to look at him. “I don’t see why I would do that.”

Stiles feels his stomach sink. “Oh, I just meant to, I don’t know, hang out, chat a bit, but you probably have stuff to do. Sorry ‘bout that, uh, thanks for dropping this off. It was nice seeing you, however brief.” Stiles waves the IPod around in his hand in an aborted gesture with a small, sad smile.

Derek turns back around to face Stiles again with a frown on his face. Stiles shuffles his feet back a little, not sure if he’s supposed to close the door or wait in case Derek says something. He just goes for standing there awkwardly, staring at Derek and having no clue what exactly to do.

“Did you want to hang out?” Derek finally asks after a few awkward seconds of silence and staring.

“Well, yeah. It’d be nice. I haven’t really had any down time lately. This is my first evening off since it was really slow at the diner and they let me go early and since you already drove all the way out here I thought that maybe you’d want to stay for a bit. You know, just a thought.” Stiles shrugs as if it weren’t a big deal even though his heart is going crazy inside his chest.

Derek stares at him for a bit longer, making Stiles break out in a nervous cold sweat but then he finally gives a nod.

“I suppose I can stay for a bit. I’m not currently working on anything so I have a bit of free time.”

Stiles lets out a huge sigh of relief, a smile breaking over his face as he steps back to let Derek in. Derek looks hesitant as he steps foot inside as if he’s still not sure if he’s welcome or not. Stiles waits for him to get a couple feet into the house before he shuts the door so that if Derek wants to bolt he still has that option. Thankfully he keeps going and Stiles shuts and locks the door after them, following Derek down the hall until they’re standing in the open area between the kitchen and living room.

“Uh, well, I was thinking about putting on a movie either down here or upstairs in my room, um, if you wanted. You can totally pick the movie, I’m fine with that. We have a bunch over there in the corner,” Stiles says, pointing to the far corner of the living room, “so you can just pick whatever. I mean, if you want to. There’s other things to do if you wanted too. Just keepin’ the options open.”

Thankfully Derek nods and Stiles finally stops his awkward rambling.

“A movie is fine.”                                          

“Cool. Uhm, the television is down here and has a pretty big screen but I have my computer upstairs which has better graphics…”

“Down here is fine. Just, pick a movie Stiles.”

Stiles tries not to think about the little flutter that dances through his stomach at the sound of his name coming from Derek’s mouth. To cover up any sign that there _had_ been a flutter he quickly crosses the living room and crouches beside the movie shelves. Quickly he scans through the movie titles before picking up Batman Begins. He holds it up.

“What about this one? That ok?”

“Good. Let’s start the movie.”

Derek had settled on the couch while Stiles had been choosing the movie and looked only slightly uncomfortable sitting there, watching Stiles with an impatient frown. Stiles jumps up and darts over to the television, not wanting to keep Derek waiting. After minimal fumbling and a few presses of the remote, the opening to Batman Begins blares through the television speakers and Stiles goes to sit on the other end of the couch so he doesn’t make Derek even more uncomfortable than he already is.

The movie finally captures Stiles attention about a third of the way in after he spent those first few moments trying to get used to Derek’s presence next to him. It’d been a while since there had been anyone else in his house, even Scott hadn’t been over in a few weeks, so it took a bit to adjust. Once he finally focused on the movie Stiles relaxed and smiled as Batman bashed in the bad guy’s face.

When the end credits finally rolled Stiles was completely relaxed and found himself a cushion over on the couch, right next to Derek. He didn’t remember when he’d done that, it must’ve been when the Scarecrow first appeared and he’d leaned over to say something about it. He was a bit of a movie talker but he thought he’d been pretty good during this one. Maybe. Probably not.

“My favorite is the second one. Joker is definitely my favorite villain. Though I really like Deadpool too but I think he’s more of an antihero than a villain. Would that make him sort of a hero too? I don’t know. He’s pretty cool though. They’re kind of alike, the Joker and Deadpool. They’ve both got tragic backstories that have to do with their scars and they’re both a little psychotic.” Stiles rambles as he puts the disk back into its case and back onto the shelf.

Derek is just sitting there, hands folded and staring at him like he wants to jump up and run out the front door. Stiles is in the middle of a monologue on what makes Deadpool slightly more crazy than the Joker and immediately shuts up when he sees Derek’s expression.

“Ah, sorry about the rambling, it’s a really bad habit. I’d offer you some dinner but you really look like you’ve had enough of me for one day. Or a week.” Stiles gives a small laugh that he hopes at least sounds genuine. “I get that a lot. It was really nice having you over though. Thanks. For hanging out. And putting up with me.” Stiles lets his mouth pull into a smile even as his stomach twists.

Derek stands up and nods at him before turning and navigating his way back to the door. Stiles follows, dragging his feet only a little. Derek unlocks and opens the door before twisting around and staring intently at Stiles.

“Thanks for having me over. It was…something.”

Stiles gives him a small smile, relieved just a little at the words. At least he wasn’t telling him it was the worst time he’d ever had and he wished he’d never come over. It’d happened before. It was not pleasant.

“Yeah, something is better than nothing I guess. I’ll, uh, see you later, maybe? If you ever need your house cleaned again just call my cell, I won’t even charge you.”

Derek shakes his head. “I don’t plan on letting my house get like that again but if it ever does I’ll call you. I’ll still pay you though, I’m sure you need the money.”

Stiles shrugs, “Doesn’t everybody. Seriously though, it was nice having you over. It’s nice not having to sit in an empty house until I decide it’s time for bed.”

Derek nods again and resumes his walk down the driveway to his car parked at the curb.

“Talk to you later then!”

Derek waves once before climbing into his car. The Camaro rumbles to life and idles for a couple of seconds before Derek peels away from the curb and down his street. Stiles watches the car go and continues staring out his door until the chill of the night finally has him shutting the door and locking it tight behind him. He stays there, forehead pressed against the wood of the door for a few more minutes before he finally pushes off and turns out the lights, making his way up the stairs in the dark. He collapses face first into his bed and sighs into the fabric of his pillow.

After replaying the night in his head at least a dozen times Stiles gives up on trying to figure out if he’d done anything wrong and shimmies out of his clothes and snuggles under his blankets for the night. He’ll deal with everything else tomorrow. He didn’t need to add more stress to his already hectic life.


	6. Chapter 6

Derek drove home in a kind of daze that night. How had he forgotten about Stiles' energy in only a few short days? The speed in which Stiles spoke was faster than Derek's mind could comprehend and that took some skill. The whole drive home was filled with thoughts of Stiles and what on earth he'd just been forced to watch for two hours. Sure, Batman was fine, but the way Stiles watched movies was something else entirely. There was no way that kid could sit still in a movie theater if that was the way he watched a movie in his own home. Give that kid a big screen with better surround sound and sugar and it was a mess waiting to happen.

Heaving a sigh Derek put Stiles out of his mind for the time being. He wouldn't be seeing the kid any time soon anyways. The car was silent. So incredibly silent after being filled with chatter and laughter over the past week that Derek felt like the silence had its own grating noise. Irritation filled him at his calm being so easily broken and hit the button for his radio and noise quickly filled his car and silenced his mind. The remaining time driving home was spent drowning out all thoughts of Stiles and on wondering about how his editor was doing on his book.

By the time he'd reached his house he'd almost completely forgotten about Stiles and was eager to put his fingers to the keyboard of his computer and start typing up his ideas for the sequel. However, when he opened the door of his room the scent of Stiles hit him hard and he was quickly ripped from his thoughts of anything but Stiles and the horrid silence and emptiness of his house.

"Damn it." He spit into the silence and quickly booted up his computer.

Once the computer was on he opened up a tab to YouTube and clicked on his favorite playlist of music that inspired him while he worked. Turning the volume up a few notches more than usual he opened up a blank Word document and began typing out his ideas from the car ride home.

Things are slow, like, really slow. Derek had hardly left his house since he'd gotten back from Stiles' house. The only things he did were go out to grab some food or whatever else ran out in the house. By the time that Derek finally got his edited work back and publisher's note to say his book was ready for printing a week had gone by and Derek's head was still stuck in the clouds that hadn't seemed to dissipate since Stiles had been there.

A knock on his front door had him scrambling over empty food cartons and clothes to get out of his room. Right before he yanked open the door he stopped and checked through the peephole and slumped into himself with an anguished groan.

"I heard that! Open up the door Der-bear!"

"Go away Laura! No one wants to see you!" he yelled back through the door.

"Aw! Don't be like that! I just came to see how you were doing! How's your book coming along? When can I read it? Has it already gone through the editor?"

Derek calmly drew in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm himself. Slowly he pulled the door open to reveal his well-dressed, whirlwind of a sister who stepped over his threshold like she owned the damn place.

"Oh Hell no! Derek! What the hell have you been doing?! It's been two weeks since you cleaned the place and it's already like this?! What. The. Hell?!"

Derek glares at her, frowning deeply but shuffles his feet when he looks around to see that he indeed had made a mess in only two weeks' time. Trash had been shoved against the walls, the room outlined in trash and debris of all sorts. Discarded papers and take-out containers made up most of the mess but there were other things in there too.

Laura was staring at it all in horror and anger before she whirled back to face him.

"You said you'd never let it get this bad again." She hissed.

"Why the hell do you care? I said I wouldn't let it get  _that_  bad again. This is nothing. Just a bit of clean up. If you'd have given me  _warning_  of your arrival then I'd have cleaned up."

"No, Derek, this is bad. I care because you're going to descend into disgust and filth and when something important really does happen your filth will completely ruin everything! If the media wants to interview you or the paparazzi comes knocking on your door everything you've worked for will be completely overshadowed by this!" she says, sweeping her arm out over the filthy living room.

"Why would anyone besides you ever come here? There's no use worrying about something that will never happen."

Derek stomps past his sister to his room, shutting the door so she doesn't see the even worse conditions he sleeps in as of late. Laura is glaring at him, tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest when he turns back around.

"You know, you're problem is exactly that. You  _don't_  have anyone to invite over, no one to talk with or be a  _normal_  person with and that turns you into a disgusting slob. You were actually pretty happy when I came over last time, right after having that person over. What happened to them? Scared them off with your pig sty?"

Derek could almost laugh at the irony. Stiles had actually been the one to  _clean_  his pig sty, not get scared off by it, and that had been some scary shit!

"They were nobody. It's none of your business anyways what I do with my life. I'm not going to let it get bad again. I'll clean at least once a week if you so badly need  _my_  house clean."

" _I_  don't need it.  _You_  do. Someone who lives like an animal will eventually become one themselves. That especially applies to us. Now either you shape the fuck up or I will bring mom into this."

Laura turned towards the kitchen but seeing it scattered with trash as well shook her head and started back towards the door. Before she reached it she paused and turned on her heel to face Derek. Derek barely managed to keep his groan of annoyance from escaping when Laura opened her mouth. What came next was something he absolutely did  _not_  expect.

"I actually came over for a reason other than harassing you about the state of you living space." She dug around in her purse for a second before whipping out a crisp, off-white envelope. "I'm getting married. Emmet and I made it official about a week ago. I only had twenty invitations made for the occasion and I wanted to make sure yours didn't get lost in your disgusting habit."

Derek, stunned into silence, reached out to take the envelope from her grasp. The paper was heavy and expensive, professionally inscribed in simple detail the names of the bride and grooms to be, as well as the time and place where the joyous occasion would be held. Derek quickly looked up to see his sister staring at him, her face steady but her eyes uncertain.

"Laura, this is amazing. Why didn't you call me?"

Laura shifted a bit on her feet, nervous. "I wanted to tell you in person, make sure you were ok with this, my choice."

Derek took the two steps forward it took to wrap his big sister in a warm hug. He could feel the tension drain out of her, the gust of breath against his shoulder that she'd been holding.

"I take it you approve?" she gave a small chuckle, wrapping her arms around his torso.

"Of course I do. I trust your judgment and if you say he's the one for you then I support you all the way." He pauses for a second before adding, "I'll still rip his lungs out if he ever makes you cry though."

Laura gives a loud bark of laughter. "I'm sure he'll be just thrilled to meet you."

"I should've met him before." Derek grumbled, finally stepping back from his sister.

Laura just rolls her eyes. "As if you'd have come if I invited you. At least this way you'll actually attend with no excuse of losing the envelope."

"I still have a phone and an email which I check often."

"As if." Laura chuckles and finally turns back to the open door and stands just outside the house. "I'll see you there then, yeah?" she asks, pointing at the envelope.

Derek nods. "Yeah. Bye Laura."

Laura smiles widely and Derek can't help but feel happy that he made his big sister smiles like that. "See ya later Der-bear."

Derek rolls his eyes and shuts his door after he sees her car disappear through the trees. He makes his way back to his room and has just sat down in his chair when his phone rings.

" _By the way, I'll be checking in with you every weekend to make sure you keep your place clean. Love you!"_

Derek sits there and stares at his phone with one part fondness and one part horror.

"Dammit."

Sighing, Derek puts his phone down on the desk and looks at the mess of his room, at all the trash everywhere, his untidy blankets and clothes. He really had a problem.

A problem that could be fixed.

Grabbing his phone he quickly pulled up the email he'd gotten from the housekeeping agency and dialed in their number. It rang twice before the line was picked up.

" _Thank you for calling_ _ **Picker-Upper's In-house Housekeeping**_ _, how may I help you?"_

"Hi, I'd like to request Stiles Stilinski for housekeeping."

" _Alright, I'll need name, number, email address…"_

"My name's Derek Hale, I should already be in your system. I received assistance two weeks ago. I'd like the same picker-upper please."

" _I'll see what I can do. Please hold."_

This phone operator was obviously not as enthused by the job as the last assistant he'd gotten. Derek ended up being on hold for ten minutes before the same dull, bored tone clicked back on the line.

" _Alright, I have confirmation of one Stiles Stilinski to work for a Derek Hale, arrival time: Thursday afternoon. Is this alright with you?"_

"That's fine. Thank you."

" _I'm going to send you a confirmation email. If I do not receive a reply within 24 hours the contract will be terminated."_

"That's fine. Thank you."

There was no answer, simply the click of the phone as it was hung up before it rang dead in his ear.

Derek only had to wait twenty minutes for the email to pop up and two minutes to send it back with the information needed. As soon as he hit send his phone rang by his side, startling him. This time he checked his caller ID to make sure it wasn't his sister calling again to harass him but it was actually Stiles' name flashing on the screen.

"Hello?"

" _Dude! You actually requested me again! I thought for sure that I'd freaked you out and driven you off with my incessant rambling and no brain to mouth filter. You have no idea how glad I was when I got a call to clean you house. Hey, how bad is it this time? There's no way you could've filled your house up that quickly. That'd be like some really inconvenient super power. I'd want the power of clairvoyance or telekinesis or something cool like that… You really should stop me you know. I could just talk and talk for hours if not stopped. Trust me, you do_ not _want that."_

"I got it Stiles. Do you need me to come pick you up so you can save on gas?" Derek finally intervened before Stiles took off on another tangent.

" _Uh, nah, I got it man. I'm already going to be taking up space in your house. I shouldn't have to take up space in your car as well. I have a half tank of gas left anyways. I'll be fine. Is there anything specific I should bring with me this time? Any particular task you need done?"_

Derek was silent for a few seconds just thinking over those words and its implications before shaking his head clear.

"Uh, no. Well, maybe you could make the backyard look decent? It's kind of…overgrown."

Stiles laughed on the other end of the line and Derek couldn't help but feel soothed by the sound, as if that alone was all it took to make the wolf inside of him calm. It freaked him out.

" _No problem-o big guy. I have this jug of weed killer that the company had given me when I was hired and I haven't had a chance to try it out. I'll have to see the damage first to see if I actually need it instead of a simple lawn mower. Do you have a lawn mower or will I need to bring one?"_

"Ah, I don't actually know. I haven't been in my garage in a while. That's probably in need of a cleaning as well."

" _Well, I can put that on my to-do list as well! I'll see you in two days!"_

"Alright. Talk to you later."

" _Bye!"_

Derek hit the end button and stared at his phone, shell-shocked like always whenever he spoke with Stiles. It was like trying to calm a wind-up toy. It wouldn't work until the wind had unwound, leaving him winded. Wow.

Suddenly Derek felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest, allowing him to breathe right again and he immediately used the feeling to his advantage, opening up his document for his sequel story and began writing.

By the time that Thursday rolled around Derek was practically buzzing with anticipation. This reaction startled him every time he thought about it. Every time he caught himself watching the clock he'd berate himself and try to shake himself free of the sensation but it just would  _not_  leave him!

He was practically pacing the floor by the time three o'clock hit and there was a knock at his door. He'd been so preoccupied in berating himself for the stupidity of feeling anticipation that he'd missed the sound of a vehicle rolling down his drive. His heart skipped a beat but he forced his body to settle and face to smooth out before he opened the door to reveal Stiles standing there in similar clothes as last time and the same bag and bucket of supplies.

"Hey! Nice to see you man!" Stiles said, grinning wide before stepping past Derek into the living room. "Wow dude, I think you might have a bit of a trash problem."

"I know." Derek grumbled, feeling irritated at the feeling of peace the boy brought him.

Stiles set his things down before holding up his hands in surrender. "I'm not judging man, I'm just stating the obvious."

"If it's obvious don't state it. I need you to have this place cleaned by Saturday. Can you do that?"

Stiles shrugged, looking around at the mess. "I don't know, depends on what I have to work with. I can get the living room done in no time flat but I don't know how bad the rest of the place is. I'll let you know in a couple hours, how 'bout that? It'll give me time to come up with a decent time frame."

Derek just waved him on. "Well, I'm not stopping you."

"So sassy." Stiles quipped jokingly before gathering his things back into his hands. "Do you want me to put my things in a different room now that they're clear or should I take my spot in your room again?"

The wolf in Derek practically purred with the thought of Stiles having a spot of his own in his room but that just made up his mind for him.

"You can take one of the other rooms. My room is kind of a mess. I sort of let it go these past weeks."

"Huh, I thought that was the only place you kept decently clean."

Derek stomped across the living room to his door. "It was." He grumbled.

"I could clean in there first if that's what you want." Stiles offered but Derek just shook his head.

"I've got to do  _something_. I can handle my room. You get the rest."

"Will do boss man! I'll take the first room down the hall then."

"Sure."

That was it for conversation that day until late evening when Stiles had finally gotten the living room and kitchen squeaky clean once more. Derek had been able to tune him out relatively successfully after the first hour and a half, only paying attention when he made an especially weird noise. A knock on his door alerted him to Stiles' presence once more.

"Come in."

His door creaked open and Stiles' head peaked through looking tired.

"I think I'm going to call it a night. I had the early shift at the diner this morning to make up for the days I'm going to miss while I'm here which is why I couldn't make it here earlier. Is there anything you need done before I head to bed?"

Derek shook his head, ignoring the wolf in his head that begged him to let Stiles sleep in his room. "That's fine for today. How much is there left to do?"

"I may be able to get the garage done by Saturday but not the backyard. I'd have to come back at a later time."

Derek was already nodding before he'd finished. "That's fine. Thank you."

Stiles nodded and closed the door at the obvious dismissal and made his way to his room across the living room and into the first door on the left. There was a small twin there that he'd uncovered the weeks before. It was clean with a blanket folded on top of it just like he'd left it.

Sluggishly he pulled his clothes bag up from the floor and tossed it to the head of the bed, peeling off his clothes before unfolding the blanket and climbing onto the mattress, using the bag as a pillow. He was out before he'd let out ten breaths.

Derek listened as Stiles' heartbeat slowed into sleep, subconsciously matching his breathing with the boy's. A yawn split Derek's face wide open as he realized he was tired as well. He'd have a busy day tomorrow getting his room in order. Laura had promised a visit on Sunday and this time he had to make sure no scent of Stiles lingered no matter how much he wished for it to.


	7. Chapter 7

Stiles was up before Derek the next morning so he started with the quiet cleaning first. The day before he’d cleared out all the trash from the living room and kitchen since the hall had been untouched since the last time he’d been there. He’d made a schedule the night before and decided it would take at least a day to clean and scrub the living room, kitchen, and bathrooms. Derek had said he’d take care of his room on his own and while he doubted Derek’s ability to clean he’d respect his decision. He’d just take a quick look the day he was supposed to leave.

Derek got up around eleven that morning, coming out of his room bright eyed and fully dressed as if he hadn’t just woken up from almost twelve full hours of sleep. Stiles was kind of jealous of…well…all of him. Dude looked like a god or something. Rude.

“Are you hungry?” Derek asked, walking into the almost clean kitchen.

Stiles scoffed. “Dude, do you not know me? Of course I am.”

Stiles stood from where he’d been crouching next to the wall, removing scuff marks from the wall. Derek downed a quick glass of water and fished his keys from his back pocket.

“What do you want?”

Stiles shrugged. “I don’t really care. I’ll eat pretty much everything. Except lima beans. Or Brussel sprouts. Or liver. I don’t really like…”

“I get it Stiles, you can shut up now.”

Stiles flushed a bright pink across his cheeks and neck and quickly turned back to the wall to hide his unattractive blushing.

“Oh, uh, right. Well, I’ll just eat whatever you give me so, uh, yeah, go crazy. I’ll be cleaning and stuffs. No need to hurry back.”

Stiles quietly curses under his breath as he scrubs at a spot on the wall like it had personally offended him. Behind him the front door opened and closed and Stiles let out a long sigh, thumping his head against the wall.

“Nice Stiles, annoy the one hot person you know. That’ll _really_ draw them in. A running motor mouth and stupid red face saying stupid things with a stupid look…stupid, all stupid, all of it. Just…stupid.”

Stiles mutters under his breath for a solid ten minutes, berating himself as he scrubs punishingly at the wall until it’s completely clean and his hands are throbbing from being rubbed raw by the rough rag. He doesn’t mind his hands though and instead heads over to the counters and starts scrubbing those as well.

When the door opens and closes again twenty minutes later he doesn’t hear it over the sound of his mild cursing and the wheels in his head turning in a jumbled mess of self-loathing and embarrassment. So when Derek grabs his hands to stop the scrubbing he yelps and jumps a foot off the ground.

“Holy Hell Derek! What the fuck?! You trying to kill me? I swear this is not the first time this has happened before!”

Derek quickly lets go and backs up a couple steps, a deep frown marring his brow.

“Your hands are bleeding. You were so busy muttering to yourself that you didn’t hear me come in.”

Stiles looks down at the rag clenched in his red hands and sees splashes of red here and there on the material.

“Oh. Oops. I thought I was just wiping up something red off the counter. Like jelly or hot sauce.”

Derek gently moves the white bag of food away from the edge of the counter where he’d half-hazardly placed it in his haste to grab Stiles’ hands.

“Didn’t you feel the pain? That usually means it’s time to stop doing what you’re doing.” Derek rebuked harshly making Stiles flinch.

“I didn’t mean to. I just got…distracted.”

Derek lifted one angry eyebrow at him, making him shrink in on himself.

“Right, sorry. Stupid of me. Really, really stupid. I wasn’t paying attention and I should have been but I wasn’t ‘cause I was embarrassed about my motor mouth and I wasn’t sure if I’d offended you and I just kinda blocked out the pain. It’s a bad habit of mine. I’ve done it since I was little. I totally made a mess out of your kitchen. There’s probably blood on the counter and I’ll have to re-clean the entire surface. I’m so sorry, it’s such a waste of your time. You don’t have to pay me for that. I’ll just dock off these hours from the total so you won’t have to pay.”

Derek watched as the boy shrunk in on himself, the scent of sadness and humiliation souring the air, making him wrinkle his nose in discomfort. Before he thought it through he reached out and put a gentle hand on Stiles’ shoulder.

“I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t care about the counter. You’re hands are bleeding.”

Stiles continued staring at the floor, trying to pull himself together. It was only a minor error, nothing big. Derek had just said that he wasn’t mad. Right? That’s what he meant, right? Stiles took deep breaths to keep him from falling into a panic attack in the middle of Derek’s kitchen.

Every time he makes a mistake a feeling of panic and terror hits him hard. It’s happened for the last couple of months and even though he can usually control it sometimes he’ll have a full blown panic attack. It’s already gotten him fired from two jobs and he just _can’t_ lose this job too. He _needs_ the money. He’s also in front of Derek, who he doesn’t know too well and will most likely report him to the agency. So, not only would he be getting fired he’d also be making a complete and utter fool of himself in front of the single most good-looking person he’s ever seen. Wow Stiles, nice one. Like usual.

“Stiles, are you going to be ok? I’m not angry with you.” Derek said, trying to soothe the panic he could scent welling up in the boy.

Stiles clenched his fists and looked up at Derek, mustering up a small smile.

“Yeah, no, I’m totally fine. Just…uh…got lost in my head. I do that a lot. Can you not tell the company about this? If they know I messed up in front of a customer and inconvenienced them I’ll get fired and I _really_ need this job.”

Derek put up his hand to stop the flow of words before Stiles could really get going. He immediately snapped his mouth shut and once Derek was sure Stiles wasn’t going to start talking again he held out a wet napkin. Stiles took it and opened his hands from where they were clenched. The rag was sitting on the counter and he couldn’t remember having let it go.

His hands were raw at the webbing between his thumb and index finger, bleeding on the right one and bleeding at his fingertips on his left hand. It wasn’t really too bad, just stung a bit now that it had been brought to his attention.

“You ok now?” Derek asked after a few moments of silence. When Stiles nodded his head he continued. “I’m not going to report you for something so minor. If you’d have stolen something from me I’d kick your ass myself.”

Stiles gave him a meek smile and nodded, dabbing the napkin at his split skin. “I, uh, might have over-reacted a bit. It happens sometimes, especially with people I don’t know very well.”

Derek simply nods and reaches into the food bag and pulls out food wrapped in paper. He hands one oblong package to Stiles and pulls out a more rounded one for himself. Stiles wraps the wet napkin around his right hand which was still slightly bleeding and began unwrapping the paper from his food.

A steaming breakfast burrito filled with eggs, sausage, bacon, and cheese had his mouth watering as he held it up to his nose.

“Mmmmm, oh yeah. That’s amazing.” Stiles drawled before shoving an obscene amount into his mouth at once, moaning around the huge bite.

Derek had unwrapped his burger and was about to take a bite when he caught sight of Stiles’ mouth engulfing the entire top of his burrito. It was positively obscene watching the boy’s mouth stretch wide over the immense burrito and devour an impossible amount at once. The moan he let out was practically pornographic and Derek wasn’t sure if he should be grossed out or turned on. He was probably a little too much of the latter. He quickly turned his attention back to the burger in his hand and tried to focus on that instead of Stiles’ eating habits.

Things went pretty smoothly after that. Stiles assured Derek that his hands were fine and that if he didn’t work he’d never get paid and scoffed when Derek offered to pay him even if he stopped right then. Stiles vehemently declined and went on cleaning. Derek managed to get half of his room cleaned by the time the sun set and Stiles had completely scrubbed the kitchen and vacuumed the living room even after taking two hours in the middle to eat lunch and dinner.

When it was time for bed Stiles knocked on Derek’s door to alert him of his presence.

“Derek, I’m going to bed now. In the morning I’ll clean the bathroom and be on my way. I didn’t get to clean the garage or backyard but I’ll get those next time if you want to hire me again.”

Derek jerked his door open looking a little frenzied.

“I didn’t realize it was that time. I don’t think I’ll be able to get my room done in time for tomorrow.”

Stiles’ eyebrows rose in surprise at the almost panic in Derek’s voice.

“Whoa there, that’s fine. I can do that too if you so desperately need it done tomorrow. What’s the occasion?”

Derek stared at him for a while as if debating really hard in his head before answering. “My sister is coming over on Sunday and I have to have this place completely clean and aired out when she gets here.”

“So why can’t I just stay a little longer on Saturday? I’m sure you’ll have enough time after noon.”

Derek just shook his head and turned back into his room, grabbing things and running around the room with them until he found a spot for them.

“No, that wouldn’t work. She’d be able to tell you were here, I’m sure of it. I need longer to air out the house. I’m not even sure a full day will be enough. Last time she knew you were in my room and would _not_ stop bugging me about it.”

Derek spoke distractedly while Stiles watched him dart around his room.

“I’ll help you finish this tonight then. It shouldn’t take too long with the both of us, right?”

Derek froze in the middle of his room, looking at him.

“You don’t know where anything goes.”

“Uh, yeah I do. I stayed here for a while before. I’m pretty sure I memorized everything you have in your house.”

“No, it’ll smell like…” Derek clamped his mouth shut and jerked his head to the side. “Uh…it just isn’t a good idea. I like my stuff exactly where I put it. I’ll just finish this tonight. You go to sleep.”

Stiles frowned slightly, confused at the odd phrasing. “Uh, ok. Whatever you say boss man. I’ll see you in the morning then. G’night.”

“Night.” Derek muttered.

Stiles pulled Derek’s door shut and went back to his room replaying what just happened in his head. Sighing he just shook his head and crawled out of his clothes and onto the blankets, wrapping himself in them and falling promptly to sleep.

The next morning was hectic, Derek waking him up by banging on his door before disappearing into his room and slamming it in his haste. Stiles worked for the next two hours scrubbing both bathrooms downstairs and making final adjustments to the house around him before he declared it done. He was out the door by eight-thirty.

“I’ll, uh, talk to you later then. If you need anything, anything at all, just call or text me.”

Derek nodded, a quick, sharp jerk of his head. “I’ll call for you again. Bye.”

“Uh, bye.”

The door slammed shut before the word was even finished and Stiles tried not to take it personally. Derek hadn’t slept that night in favor of cleaning his room and airing out the house as much as he could during the dark hours. Stiles wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed up until his sister got there the next day.

Derek had to physically calm himself down. His wolf was antsy at the thought of Stiles leaving so soon after he’d come back which in turn made Derek himself antsy. The scent of Stiles was being washed away by the breeze and left his chest feeling tight. He’d found Stiles’ blanket folded neatly on the guest mattress shortly after he’d left and found himself pressing his face into the fabric and inhaling deeply. When he realized what he was doing he was so deeply disturbed he’d almost thrown the blanket away from him but he couldn’t let go of it.

He should have thrown the blanket straight into the wash. He _should_ have. That doesn’t mean he did. Instead he took the blanket and tucked it underneath his pillow where his scent was the strongest and the most likely to keep Laura from discovering it.

When Laura arrived on Sunday morning the house was thoroughly aired out so hardly a trace of Stiles was left.

“Wow baby brother. You know, if you didn’t make such a mess all the time you wouldn’t have to clean it up either.”

Derek waited anxiously in the middle of his empty living room for Laura to finish her sweep of the house, making sure he hadn’t just stuffed all the trash and filth somewhere else. When she went into his room he couldn’t help but tense up, his heat rate increasing just a little bit but enough for a werewolf to know. Yet when she came out of the room she didn’t look any the wiser.

“Well, this place is looking great except for your garage. That’ll be your next project. Clean up the garage and you’ll be golden! See what a loving sister I am? Looking out for your health and well-being and everything. You should really thank me instead of scowling at me Mr. Grumpy Gills.”

“Laura.” Derek said in what was meant to be a threatening tone but instead came out as endearing and a little exasperated.

Laura just laughed. “You know, you should really hang out with us more. We’re family after all. Mom misses you and I’m sure dad does too. I’d love to hang out with you sometime since the only times I ever get to see you is when I threaten you with parental punishment for having a filthy house.”

Derek feels a jolt of guilt when he scents the slight hint of sadness and longing coming from Laura.

“Sorry. You’re right, I should. I’ve just been…busy. I don’t like people meddling with my life. You should know better than anyone.”

Laura nodded. “You’re right, I do. Which is why I want to make sure you’re not completely alone all the time. It’s not good for our wolves. We’re pack creatures for a reason, it keeps us strong and safe.” Laura wraps her brother up in her arms. “I love you and mom loves you and dad loves you and your sister loves you and your brother loves you, we all love you. And whoever that blanket belongs to in your room probably loves you.” Laura chuckles.

Derek lets out a long suffering groan but laughs and wraps his arms around his sister, hugging her tight.

“I knew you’d find that. It’s just a…scent thing. I like the way he smells.”

“ _He_ huh? Well, isn’t this a development.”

Derek just groans again and rubs his face against his sister’s, scent marking her.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever buddy. We’ll definitely talk about this later but I’m going to be late for lunch with Emmet if I don’t get going now. I love you baby brother. Take care of yourself.” She says as she lets go and walks back out the front door. “Also, call up that man of yours. If you don’t make it known that you’re interested he’ll never know. If anything he’ll probably be terrified of that intense scowly thing you have going on.”

“Good _bye_ Laura.” Derek says with finality and Laura laughs.

“See you later Der-bear.”

Derek waits until her car has disappeared, standing in the doorway with a fond grin before closing the door once more and locking it behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

 Derek goes for two more days before he calls Stiles. The first time he calls he gets Stiles’ voicemail so he waits for a good two hours before calling again. Voicemail again. He waits for another hour before sending a quick text, feeling dread and embarrassment that Stiles might be ignoring him. Maybe he’d already scared Stiles off like Laura had said. The blanket had already lost most of Stiles’ scent from him rubbing his face in it so many times. It mostly just smelled like him now.

He tried to keep the text short and simple but it ended up being: _Stiles, it’s Derek. I called a couple of times but didn’t leave a message since it seemed pointless. I was wondering if you’d like to come over and help me clean the garage tomorrow. I could call up the agency if you wanted to keep things that way but I just thought I’d ask._

He stared at the text for three solid minutes, debating on whether or not to send the lengthy message but eventually he forced himself to hit the send button and the message was on its way. The second it was sent he was hit with the feeling of stupidity, as if he’d just made a huge blunder but he couldn’t really figure out why. There was nothing wrong with his text or his request. It just felt…overtly familiar? Maybe? He couldn’t put his finger on it.

Derek’s phone was silent for the rest of the day, no new messages or calls popped up whenever he’d check his phone every ten minutes or so. His heart felt just the slightest bit heavy at the thought of Stiles ignoring him. Just slightly. Eventually he had to force himself to put his phone away and concentrate on the document in front him that held his outline for another book he’d wanted to write for a while. He wasn’t in the mood for the sequel to his last novel.

His phone was silent until about three that morning. The buzz of it in his pocket startled him out of his daydream where he’d been staring at the blank screen of his computer for the past half hour or so. He fumbled for his pocket and yanked his phone out, expanding the message Stiles had sent him.

_Hey! Sorry about not getting back to you earlier. I just got off work and I’m not supposed to have my phone at work so I didn’t get your message until just now. I’d be happy to come over tomorrow if you still want me to. You don’t have to go through the agency if you don’t want to, I’d totally understand. Thanks for requesting me though! It’s awesome working at your place. So, uhm, if you still want me to come over tomorrow I’ll let my bosses know and take a couple days off. They’re really understanding._

The message ended there and Derek couldn’t help but shake his head with a small smirk on his lips at the oddity of that message. It was just like Stiles to give a long-winded reply. Quickly he hit the reply button and composed his message.

_You can come over whenever you want tomorrow._

The reply was almost instant.

_Sweet! I’ll probably be there around one in the afternoon if all goes well. I wasn’t expecting you to be up still and would have called you instead of texting since there’s never enough space for typing everything I want to say in these tiny little bubbles. Why is the limit only 160?! All my messages end up being like a bajillion little balloons!_

Derek chuckled. It was so off topic.

_Even if I were asleep I always answer when my phone rings unless it’s my sister. I find the limit to be just fine._

_That’s because you hardly say anything. People like me who have a lot to say have to suffer through the multiple message bloops that get messed up sometimes and end up looking like a jumble of half-finished thoughts. Usually I just shorten my words so that there’s not as many characters and I can text faster but I don’t want to seem incompetent so I’ve been spelling everything out. And double checking since I make horrid mistakes. Yeah, this one is long too._

Derek rolls his eyes at the absurdity.

_It’s fine Stiles. Text however you’re comfortable with._

_Sweet. I wsnt sure if u wer ok with that. Now the wrds look stpd. Ha! Well im gnna get sme shut i. txt u tomoro._

_I’ll talk to you tomorrow Stiles. Good night._

_Gnite :)_

Derek stared at his phone for a good ten minute reading and rereading their texts and laughed at the horrendous grammar in the last few texts. As a novelist reading shortened texts like that should have bugged him but knowing it was Stiles just made him smile. It was disconcerting. It seemed as though everything Stiles did just made Derek more and more fond of him. Damn, it was going to suck when his house was completely cleaned.

The thought brought unease to Derek’s mind so he quickly shooed it away and kept rereading the texts until he fell asleep.

The next day Derek was woken by the sound of a vehicle on his road and darted out of bed, pulling on appropriate clothes and brushing his teeth and hair which was sticking up in _every_ direction! Why this morning of all mornings to have bedhead?!

He quickly combed gel through his hair and washed up in time to hear a knock on his door. Derek ran to the door and jerked it open, smoothing his face out before the door fully revealed him. Stiles stood there with his usual bucket and bag with a huge smile on his face.

“Hey! Nice to see you again! I mean, it’s only been like four days but it feels like longer to me. Is that weird? That’s probably totally weird but whatever, it’s nice to see you.” Stiles ranted on in his usual manner.

“It’s nice to see you too Stiles.” Derek said with a small, fond smile. He’d actually really missed the kid.

Stiles’ smile got impossibly wider and Derek rolled his eyes before stepping back to let the kid through the door.

“There are donuts in the fridge. I got them the night before so I hope they aren’t too soggy.”

Stiles groaned and set his stuff down on the floor next to the front door before rushing to the fridge with a triumphant hiss of ‘Yes!’ and a fist pump into the air.

The donuts were still good and all twelve of them were devoured by the both of them in the next half an hour. By the time they were finished crumbs were littered across the counter. Stiles laughed when he saw the mess.

“I should be cleaning this place, not making more of a mess.” He chuckled, wiping up the mess with a dampened paper towel.

Derek just shrugged. “It happens.”

“You’d know _all_ about messes, wouldn’t you? You just so happen to be the king of messes which is really something since I previously held that title for at least three years before I saw your house. Now _that_ is impressive.”

They get to work after cleaning up everything from breakfast/lunch but neither are in a hurry this time. The garage is in absolute disarray and will undoubtedly take a couple days to finish so they just bide their time, sorting through the mess piece by piece. Most of it is just stuff that Derek had taken off the shelves and racks and had never put back. Other stuff belongs in the rooms inside such as mattresses that never made it up the stairs when he moved in so long ago that were still covered in plastic. Tubs full of decorations his mother had given him, pictures of his family and of landscapes. Paintings that were probably incredibly valuable that never got hung up. Just…stuff.

By the end of the first day they were both filthy, covered in dirt and cobwebs from rooting around in things that hadn’t been touched in years. Stiles had spent the majority of the time oo-ing and ah-ing at all the cool stuff as they sorted it into different piles. They’d managed to get a quarter of the garage sifted through in the hours they’d been there.

“You have a freakishly big house with a freakish amount of stuff but it’s _all_ in your garage! Why didn’t you just bring it in? Your garage wouldn’t be this cluttered if you’d just put the stuff away when you’d moved in.”

“I didn’t feel like it. I don’t really care how my house looks since I’m the only one who’s ever in here. There’s no one I need to impress.”

“Right. No girlfriend. I forgot. It’s hard to believe a guy like you wouldn’t have someone. It’s practically a crime keeping all of you to yourself.”

Derek just shook his head. “I’m doing the world a favor, trust me.” He grumbled.

Stiles rolled his eyes and gave Derek a nudge with his shoulder as they went back inside so they could clean up.

“You’re kind of ridiculous but that’s ok. You haven’t kicked me out yet so I’m not complaining. Most people would gladly let me hole myself up.” Stiles chuckled and started towards his bag he’d left next to the door.

“You’re not _that_ bad.” Derek reasoned gruffly.

Stiles gave him an incredulous look. “Riiiiight. I know you’re not deaf nor are you blind so I’m just going to have to question your sanity on this one.”

“No, really. You’re not that bad. If you were I’d have tossed you a long time ago.” Derek continued even though he had no idea why his mouth was still running.

“Aw! You liiiike me! That’s so sweet!” Stiles said jokingly, clasping his hands together and fluttering his eyelashes.

He could only hold it for a couple seconds before doubling over in laughter. Derek stood there a few feet from him, a curious frown marring his brow. _Like_ him? Did Derek _like_ him? The thought was like a bucket of cold water that shook him to the bone. Without another word he turned around and stalked to his room, shutting the door behind him. He could still hear Stiles laughing quietly as he went to take a shower in the other bathroom next to the guest bedroom.

Leaning against the door he tried to gather his thoughts. Ok, he did _not_ like Stiles. It was a platonic toleration. The kid cleaned for him and he paid him. He was just a _kid_ for goodness sake! There was no way he’d like him! It was just because he hasn’t been around other people for so long that this little bit of company has him forming a sort of friendship with him. Just friendship, that was it.

He spend his time in the shower reassuring himself that he didn’t _like_ Stiles, just liked him as a friend. There was absolutely no way since it just didn’t happen, he wouldn’t ever come to like him.

When he got out he was calm again, knowing there was nothing that could possibly happen. Oh he was so wrong. So very wrong.

When he stepped out of his room clothed in fresh pajamas Stiles went darting from the guest bathroom into the guest room with only his dirty clothes covering his junk. Derek got an eyeful of a wet, pale, white ass dotted with moles before he disappeared into the room.

Derek froze there while he listened to Stiles cursing under his breath and the rustle of clothes as Stiles pulled on his pajamas. When Stiles came out of the room he hadn’t moved an inch and Stiles froze too, staring at him with horror.

“Oh fuck. Did you see that?”

“Uh…” Derek couldn’t really answer, his mind still playing and replaying the image of Stiles’ pale, naked body running through his hallway.

“Shit. I’m so sorry. I forgot my clothes when I went into the bathroom since I was too busy laughing and I didn’t want to put my clothes back on since they were filthy and I just showered and there was no towel. I had checked and double checked to make sure that you weren’t there but I…uh…you must’ve come out at the same time as me and I didn’t see you. Man, you are going to be scarred for life with the image of my ugly, naked ass seared into your brain for the rest of your life.” Stiles laughed even through the undercurrent of embarrassment still wafted off of him. “Sorry about that. I seem to be making a lot of dumbass mistakes lately. It’s just a me thing I guess.”

“It’s fine. I…uh…didn’t really see you. I wasn’t paying attention. Do you want anything to eat? We forgot about dinner since we had lunch late.” Derek said hastily as he wrenched his eyes from Stiles. He was so fucked.

“You going to go get food in your pajamas?”

Derek shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time. You can come too if you wanted. I’m just going to grab something from the diner since they’re open until ten.”

“Sure. Let me grab my shoes.”

Derek quickly retreated into his room and sat on his bed, totally in shock. This was so not how he expected things to be. That single look at that lithe body had him aching for Stiles. When the Hell had this attraction manifested and how in the world was it already this strong? He had to calm the fuck down before he screwed everything up like last time. There will _never_ be a next time. He’d sworn to himself. Never. Again.

With that in mind he tugged on his sneakers without socks and grabbed his keys and wallet before walking back out to where Stiles was waiting for him.

The drive to the diner was filled with Stiles’ mindless chatter with only short noises of acknowledgement from Derek to keep the words flowing. The car was filled with the scent of the both of them and Derek tried not to concentrate on how good they smelled together. Stiles who smelled of fresh flowers and sharp soap, which was undoubtedly from his shower, but underneath that was a richer scent, a uniquely human scent that made Derek’s mouth water. That scent mixing with Derek’s heady, animal scent practically drove his wolf wild.

He didn’t let anything slip though and climbed out of the car quickly when they reached the diner, slamming the door shut on the rich air inside. Derek knew the scent would be there when they got back but he was at least free of it for the moment, which he took to calm himself down.

“This place has such great curly fries. I should ask them to put them in a burger for me this time as well as get a plate of them on the side. Their milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard. And girls too. And probably all the wildlife too since they are the bomb!” Stiles enthused as they made their way inside.

There were a good number of people inside since it was only nine-thirty at night. They weren’t even the only ones in pajamas. Several teenage girls at a table in a booth were all decked out in pajama pants and sweaters since it was starting to round towards fall which meant chilly weather in Northern California. The days were generally hot as Hell but the nights got blissfully cool.

“What can I get for you gentlemen?” a waitress asks once they’ve been seated.

Stiles prattles out his order while Derek looks at the menu. When he finally makes his decision he looks up to see the waitress staring at him with big eyes and a red, flirty smile. She’s twirling a golden ringlet of hair between her fingers. It’s disturbing.

“I’ll have the steak and potatoes. Rare. Thank you.”

“Anything to drink?” she enquires as she writes down his order, looking at him every two seconds until she’s done writing to stare at him again.

“Iced tea. No sugar.”

“Would you like a side of fries or perhaps hash browns? Our salads are wonderful too.”

“No thank you. That’ll be all.”

She takes the menus without taking her eyes off Derek before finally turning around and disappearing around the corner.

“Dude, that was the most hardcore check out I have ever seen in my life.” Stiles snickers as he looks over to where the waitress had disappeared.

“Is that what she was doing? It was ridiculous.” Derek scoffed.

“It was a tad excessive I’ll admit but at least it got her point across. She was hitting on you _hard_!” Stiles laughs.

Derek just rolled his eyes and pulled napkins from the dispenser to place between the two of them. He knew Stiles would need one.

The waitress came back two minutes later with two drinks, setting them on the table in front of them.

“Just let me know if you two need anything at all, the name’s Erica.”

“Thank you.” Stiles smiled and pulled his milkshake towards him and immediately began sucking the sweet, pink shake down.

Derek couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on where Stiles’ mouth wrapped around the straw before turning his gaze back to the young waitress who was staring between the two of them curiously.

“Wait, I totally recognize you. Stiles, right? Stiles Stilinski? The Sheriff’s kid?” she asked and Stiles sputtered into his milkshake, coughing the liquid out of his windpipe.

“Uh…” he just stared at her, horror on his face.

Derek stared at him questioningly.

“Yeah! We were in ninth grade together. I don’t know if you’d remember me. I was a shabby loser last year. Had a complete make-over this summer though. I thought you moved since I didn’t see you at the beginning of the school year. What have you been up to if you’re still around?”

Stiles’ heart was beginning to beat fast, the tempo slightly irregular with panic.

“Uh, well, you see, my dad was…I…” he stuttered.

“He’s been going through some things, needed some time off. Personal reasons.” Derek quickly stepped in when it was clear that Stiles couldn’t talk his way out of this one.

Erica turned back to him with a smile. “Oh. I don’t think we’ve met. I’d definitely remember a face like yours. Where you from?”

“Around.” Derek said with a polite smile. “I think your boss is looking for you.”

Erica’s smile drops and she spins around to see the balding floor manager glaring at her, beckoning her over with an angry hand. She immediately flits away, leaving the two of them in silence.

Stiles is staring into his milkshake with wide, terrified eyes. Derek doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, waiting for the panicked pace of Stiles’ heart to calm before finally saying something.

“High school then. I wasn’t sure how old you were. I knew you were younger than me but I didn’t realize by how much.”

“Uh, yeah. High school.”

“High school _sophomore_.” Derek enunciated. “Should I be wondering why you’re working four jobs instead of attending school?”

“No, no you shouldn’t. Like you said, personal reasons.”

Stiles’ voice was weak and his hands were shaking slightly as he fiddled with the napkin in front of them. Derek wanted to say more but their food arrived by the hands of one thoroughly chastised Erica who left with a simple, ‘Enjoy’ before rushing away. Stiles just sort of picked at his burger while Derek ate his steak quickly.

Once Derek was done he asked for a box and a check and they were on their way, Stiles and his food in tow.

The car ride was quiet, uncomfortably so. The only sound came from the car beneath them until they reached Derek’s house and even that noise was replaced by that irritating non-noise noise of silence.

“Stiles, I’m not going to ask you anything you don’t want to talk about. I’m not going to report you to any of your managers either. I just want to make sure you’re ok. You’re working non-stop for money that I don’t know what for. Do you need help? Is someone threatening you and your dad?”

Stiles’ head shoots up and looks at Derek with horror and concern. “No! No, no, no, nothing like that. It’s just…something happened and I have to make it right. I have to…fix it…as best I can.”

Derek nods, grabbing Stiles’ food from his lap and climbing out of the car. Stiles follows but at a slower pace as if he’s just lost everything that has been keeping him going. Over the last couple months that Derek had gotten to know him he’s never seen Stiles like this, never smelled the scent of sorrow so heavily upon him. He doesn’t pry though and instead just walks beside him into the house, locking the door behind them.

As soon as he puts the food into the fridge for Stiles to eat later he jesters towards his room.

“Let’s watch something on Netflix for a while. Have you seen Random Show?”

Stiles solemnly shakes his head.

“I think you might like it.” He says gruffly, trying and probably failing to be reassuring.

Stiles seemed to be working on keeping his breathing steady and simply follows without a fuss as Derek leads him to his room, leaving the door open. He pulls a blanket on top of them once they settle onto the bed and pulls the laptop into their laps. When the episode starts he feels Stiles relax against him slowly. By the middle of the second episode Derek can feel the rest of that foul panic, fear mixture fade completely from Stiles. He pauses it just before the beginning of the third episode.

“You hungry yet?”

Stiles sits up all the way and stretches, his joints popping as he does.

“Dude, I’m starving.” He yawns.

“I know. I can hear your stomach growling.” Derek says lightly.

“I’m always hungry.”

Stiles reheats his food and brings it back to the room where they watch one more episode of Random Show before Stiles’ yawns are more often than not and Derek shuts off his computer.

“Tomorrow we’ll do as much as we can on the garage then go for ice cream or something. That’s what you kids like isn’t it? Ice cream?”

Stiles snorted. “You sound like you’re eighty. I’m not a kid.”

“Kid, you are very much a kid.”

Stiles just rolls his eyes before yawning again. Derek pushes him up from the bed and Stiles grasps onto his wrist to keep his balance before he steadies himself on his own two feet. The feeling of Stiles’ hand against his skin makes Derek shiver, still feeling the ghost of the touch even after Stiles has let go.

“Ok, good night.”

“Night.” Derek says gruffly.

Stiles closes Derek’s door on the way out and Derek simply sits there, fingers lightly pressed into the skin of his wrist where he swears it’s still tingling from Stiles’ touch. Man he is so screwed!


	9. Chapter 9

In the morning nothing is said about what had happened the night before. Stiles greeted Derek with a cheery but cautious smile and Derek simply nodded before grabbing his usual cup of water.

While Derek was out grabbing breakfast Stiles went to the garage and sat among the clutter, breathing and trying to keep his head in order. If Derek asked about what was going on he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to tell him the truth. There was no way a responsible adult would allow what he was doing as an underage teen to continue if they knew his circumstances. Stiles just decides that if Derek does ask he’ll either dodge the questions or tell him it’s none of his business, because, really, it’s not. That sounds pretty harsh though and he doesn’t want Derek to hate him. Or fire him. He actually kinda likes Derek if truth be told. Like, who _wouldn’t_ be attracted to all of _that_?!

His mind is still spinning in circles by the time he hears Derek’s car pull up in the drive and he realizes he hadn’t gotten anything done, simply fiddling with the edge of one of the many cloths in the dirt.

The garage door is yanked open, startling Stiles into whacking his elbow nice and hard against the weight bench he’d been leaning against.

“Oo, ouch. That’s gonna smart later. What’d you get?”

“Pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, and hash browns from the diner. I wasn’t sure how much you’d want so I just ordered three of everything. We can split it.”

“Sounds good to me if I can have two servings of the bacon.”

Derek rolls his eyes. “We’ll just split it all evenly. The bacon is my favorite too. You can have the hash browns though. I don’t care for potatoes.” Derek said, handing the bag over to Stiles to grab whatever he wanted.

Stiles clutched his chest as if he’d been gravely wounded, staring at Derek with mock-horror. “You don’t like potatoes?! What is wrong with you?! You _have_ to at least like mashed potatoes. Those are, like, the bomb dot com!”

“The bomb dot com? Really Stiles? Now who talks like an old man?”

“Hey! That’s incredibly hip I’ll have you know!” Stiles protests with a laugh as he digs into his pancakes on his side of the Styrofoam container.

Derek snorts a laugh which pleases Stiles to no end. It didn’t seem like Derek laughed much so every time he smiled or laughed at something he said or did made warmth bubble through him.

They bicker as they polish off their breakfast. They ended up splitting the bacon almost evenly. Stiles managed to grab the last piece while Derek was distracted with shoving an entire pancake in his mouth. Stiles was quite impressed if not a little disgusted. Even he hadn’t managed a single bite before. Always two or more.

The garage cleaning was a rigorous task which required heavy lifting on multiple accounts but eventually they managed to clear half of the garage by sundown. Once again they were filthy from the collection of filth over the years. Stiles stomach was trying to eat itself by the time he’d finished showering and changing into his pajamas. He hadn’t forgotten his clothes or towel this time.

“Dude, you _need_ to get some food in your kitchen. For one it’s healthier, and two it’s much less of a hassle. Having to run back and forth to fast food chains and the diner for every mean must eat up your gas and food money.” He said as he flopped down on Derek’s bed.

Derek just shrugs from his computer chair. “I’m used to it. Besides, the food from the diner or fast food joints tastes way better than anything I can ever manage to slop together.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow at him. “It doesn’t really surprise me that you can’t cook actually. You spend all your time cooped up in your room writing whatever you’re writing on your computer. I, on the other hand, am an amazing cook. I make the _best_ lasagna. Mm, that sounds good. Lasagna. It takes pretty long to make though. I can create almost anything when it comes to soups though. My favorite is a nice, golden brown grilled cheese with creamy tomato soup.” Stiles stomach gives a long, suffering growl that makes him laugh. “You hear this?! I have a monster in my tummy! Feed meeee!”

Stiles breaks off into peals of laughter and Derek rolls his eyes even though he has a grin plastered on his face.

“It’s only a little after seven, I’m sure the grocery stores are still open if you wanted to go.” Derek offered, looking down at his phone screen to check the time.

“Is this going to be a thing? Going out in public in the evening in our pajamas? Not that I mind since everyone always says I have the worst fashion sense anyways but what about you? You’ll lose face if you go out dressed in pajamas all the time.”

“I don’t have face to lose. I don’t know anyone in this town and I don’t care about what they think.”

Stiles sits up completely on the edge of the mattress staring at Derek with shining eyes. “Right?! Screw them! Pajamas are wonderful and comfortable and should be worn all the time. It should be mandatory! Well, maybe not mandatory since then no one would actually like it since it inhibits creative freedom. Like uniforms! I would hate to have to wear a uniform all the time.”

“So, yes to the store or no?”

“Oh right! Yes, I want to go to the store. If I let you go on your own you’d probably pick up a 48 pack of instant ramen and lunchables. I’ll make sure you pick good stuff.”

“What’s wrong with ramen and lunchables?”

Stiles laughs. “Nothing except for how incredibly bad they are for you! Do you even _read_ the salt content in a single ramen cup? There’s like a butt-ton of that shit!”

Stiles hops up from the bed and runs to grab his shoes while Derek chuckles to himself, grabbing his own shoes, wallet and keys.

“’Butt-ton.” He laughs. “What on Earth?”

They pile into Derek’s Camaro and speed off to the nearest grocery store where Stiles grabs an assortment of fruits, vegetables, breads, condiments, beverages, and meats, none of which are disgustingly processed except for the condiments which can’t really be avoided. They drive home with a trunk filled to the brim with groceries and Stiles looking smug as fuck.

Once they have everything inside and put away Stiles starts getting ingredients for sandwiches out. In the middle of making the first sandwich Derek manages to open the mayonnaise upside down and smear it all over the countertop. He is promptly banned from the kitchen and instead is told to wait at the table for the food.

“You’re going to have to learn how to survive on your own eventually. How on Earth did you make it this long on fast food? Your arteries must look like a sixty year old’s, all clogged and shit.” Stiles scolds as he sets down two huge ham sandwiches on the table.

“I’m completely healthy, trust me. Just because I don’t eat healthily doesn’t mean I don’t take good care of myself. I’m in top shape.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Uh huh, sure. You’re probably going to pop a beer gut within the next five years if you continue down this path.”

“I won’t.” Derek mumbles around a bite of sandwich.

Stiles wags his finger at Derek for a good ten seconds until he swallows his bit, Derek’s eyes sparkling with amusement at the gesture. “Now look here mister, healthy food makes for a healthy body and unhealthy food makes for an unhealthy body. Didn’t your mother teach you this?” Stiles berates but there’s no real heat behind his words.

“Of course she did but then again I wasn’t exactly top priority for her. I’ve got dozens of other family members for her to dote over.”

There’s a slight lull in the conversation as they both eat, Stiles staring at his sandwich every now and again as he remembers his own mother and how she used to dote on her two favorite men in the whole wide world.

“You’re really lucky you have such a big family. It must be a really…loving environment.” Stiles says with a small smile.

Derek’s face softens a bit. “Yeah. They’re pretty great. What about you?”

Stiles stills for all of a second before he shrugs, looking away from Derek and to the crumbs dotting his plate. “Uh, my family’s small. Really small. So I don’t really know what it’s like for you.” He gives a small, forced laugh before returning his gaze to Derek’s.

“Well, small families can be nice too. Less commotion to deal with.”

“I wish I had a family like yours. A really big one where there always seems to be little kids running around the adult’s feet and teenagers angsting in the corner. Old men recounting their good ol’ days and all the females gossiping at one table. It would be beautiful.” Stiles sighs.

Derek stares at him for a long time and Stiles can’t help but stare back. Stiles can’t read the emotion in Derek’s face but at least it doesn’t look angry or uncomfortable.

“I’m sure you’ll have one someday.”

Stiles just sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t know. Maybe. I doubt it though.”

Derek doesn’t say anything after that and instead gathers their plates up and tosses them. Stiles sits there while Derek cleans up but when he’s done he comes over and sits right back down.

“Look, Stiles, I don’t know what’s going on and I won’t push you since I myself don’t like being pushed. If you want to talk I’ll listen. It doesn’t have to be now, it can be whenever.”

Stiles is more than a little shocked at the offer but he smiles and nods his head. “Thanks. I’m not usually this mopey or sensitive about stuff and when I am I usually have my best friend Scott there to talk to but it seems even he has left the building for this one. I haven’t really spoken to anyone in depth in a long time and my brain to mouth filter is stuck on a permanent “off” position so when I do talk to people I end up making them uncomfortable or angry. It’s a bad habit that I just can’t kick.” Stiles give a small chuckle.

Derek nods and taps the table a couple of times, trying to think of something to say.

“Well, I’ll listen. If you want.”

Stiles nods. “Yeah, I might take you up on that offer one day. Maybe not tonight since I’m exhausted and can’t handle the emotional stress.” Stiles runs a hand across his buzz-cut hair and sighs, leaning back in the chair. “I should definitely sleep now or I’ll have trouble waking up like I did this morning when my alarm went off. That was ridiculous.”

Derek feels whatever tension that had built during the conversation melt away as they faded back into familiar territory. Stiles seemed to have a lot to deal with for a sophomore in high school and even though it wasn’t any of his business he couldn’t help but feel the need to question and comfort him until all of that sadness and fear that was always clinging to him finally dissipated for good.

He doesn’t though which makes his wolf whine but keeps from spoiling whatever the two had between them. At this point he wasn’t sure if they were still simply worker and client or more into the friendship territory. Whatever it was he didn’t want to lose it so he kept his mouth shut as Stiles got up, stretched, and trudged to the guest room, shutting the door behind him.

Derek stayed up for a while longer, laying on his bed and thinking about Stiles and how different he feels since he’d first met the hyper active boy. As the days went by the feeling was less disconcerting as it was confusing. Maybe he just needed to stop freaking out about everything and accept whatever was happening. Maybe that’s what he _needed_   but it wasn’t what he _wanted._ It frightened him which in turn made him feel threatened and that was a button he really didn’t want to press, especially with Stiles around.

Damn he was a mess.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, already chapter 10. I'm so glad alls of yalls are still with me on this. Forgive any mistakes I make since my most creative times are in the wee hours of the morning.   
> I also want to thank alls of yalls who write comments, each one is so very inspiring for me and keeps me going when I feel like this story isn't worth anything and when I'm tempted to just stop. Every kudo, bookmark, and comment I receive makes me so very happy.

Stiles slumped back against the wood of the door as soon as he’d said good night to Derek. He really needed to stop getting so emotional about everything. His business was his business and it wasn’t right making Derek worry like that. He shouldn’t have to offer to listen, he shouldn’t have to worry about Stiles, and Stiles didn’t deserve any of that kind concern.

Stiles slid to the ground, his head in his hands. This was getting a little out of hand. He’d thought they’d been making progress towards being friends but as soon as he saw the worry and confusion in Derek’s eyes he realized that perhaps he’d let this all get too personal. Perhaps it wasn’t “friendship” he’d been steering towards.

Taking deep breaths Stiles calmed himself. In. Out. Breathe.

Several long minutes passed before he could think rationally again but eventually he managed to pick himself up off the carpet and drag himself out of his clothes and into the bed. Once he’d fully settled into the clothes he used for a pillow he silently tried to hash out exactly what it was that he was feeling and what he was going to do about it.

For one: Derek was the most attractive, caring, and interesting man he’d ever met in his life. Yet, two: there was no way in hell Stiles could ever let Derek _know_ of his seemingly extreme attraction towards him. And, three: if Stiles really is attracted to Derek like _that_ then he’d have to keep it completely under wraps which meant no flirting, no innuendos, and no crowding. The last time he’d had a crush of this magnitude it’d been on a pretty, strawberry blonde genius with an evil streak a mile long. That hadn’t gone well. So definitely with the keeping it to himself then.

That didn’t mean that he couldn’t dream though.

Laying there, thinking about all the days he’d been with Derek, talking to him, occasionally brushing up against him (on accident of course…totally), simply being in his presence, made his blood pump just a bit harder, made his breathing deepen just a bit slower, and had his skin heating just a bit hotter.

The way Derek moved like he was conscious of every fiber of carpet he walked on, the way his voice rumbled just a bit deeper when he was please, the way his eyes seemed to flash in the light when the sun hit them just right, all of it, made Stiles shiver with want.

Slowly, quietly, Stiles flattened his hand against his chest, biting at the knuckles of his other hand to make sure he remained quiet. It wasn’t hard to imagine one of Derek’s hands, warmer and slightly tougher than Stiles’, in place of his own hand as he smoothed it across his chest, lightly trailing the tips of his fingers of one nipple, biting his knuckle to keep a moan from escaping. Gently he teased himself, tracing his pert nipple lightly before giving it a harsh pinch. The rush of pleasure that shot throughout his body made him moan deep in his throat, the sound somehow making him even more excited when he thought about Derek being in the other room, how he might hear him if he were too loud.

The front of his boxers slowly tented as his cock fattened up against his thigh, lying sideways so he had room to move his hand away from the blanket and mattress just in case he left a stain. The fabric felt almost too rough against the sensitive head, making bite a little harder at his finger. He let his fingers linger a little longer on his nipples, teasing them into hard peaks, before trailing lower, brushing through the treasure trail below his belly button. The elastic band slid away as he hooked his thumb under the edge and finally let his dick pull free of the fabric.

The head of his dick was leaking slightly, precum dewing the top enough to slick over the tip with his fingertip. The sensation was so intense Stiles simply sucked his index and middle fingers into his mouth, sucking on them to keep his tongue occupied. He wanted so desperately to wrap his hand around himself and jerk himself to completion but the temptation to go slow and imagine it was _Derek_ doing it to him was too great.

In his mind’s eye he could see Derek, his well-worn grey Henley stretching over his muscles as he moved and his fingers pressed slightly harder against the tip, smearing the precum that flowed forth down the underside of his cock. The image of Derek’s mouth, smiling at something Stiles said or opening to receive a bite of food had Stiles sucking harder at his fingers, his tongue sliding between the digits. What finally got his hand to close around his shaft was the memory of warmth from Derek’s body whenever he’d brush by, touching him on accident or on purpose.

Stiles could imagine the way Derek’s hand would be strong and sure, gripping him tight in his fist and slowly jerking him. After all of three seconds Stiles had to wrench his fingers from his mouth, unable to breath simply through his nose and drew in panting breaths. The images and fantasies flashing through his mind made him whine in the back of his throat. The thought that Derek was in the next room made Stiles’ body clench, his hand flying over his dick. His wet fingers added more slide as he put both hands on himself and the extra sensation had his balls drawing up.

Quickly he kicked the blanket off and turned onto his stomach, back arching as he came all over his hands and stomach. Stiles collapsed back against the bed as if his strings had been cut, panting open-mouthed into the air. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d come so hard he’d seen stars like that. The buzz of the afterglow lasted long minutes, making his mind fuzzy and slow. It took him a bit to unclench his fist from around his soft dick and grimace at the tack of his cum as it slowly dried against his skin. Well, at least it was easy enough to clean up with the boxers he kicked off, making sure he didn’t miss anything and risk leaving evidence behind.

Once Stiles was thoroughly clean and cum free he reached over the side of the bed and dragged a clean pair from his bag up his legs so he was at least clothed if Derek decided to wake him up in the morning. After he was once again covered by his blanket he allowed his exhausted, blissed-out mind to slip into unconsciousness.

~~

When Derek woke up he could already hear Stiles awake in his room, moving about and tugging on zippers. Moving quickly he brushed his teeth and made his way out to the kitchen so he could see what he might be able to prepare for breakfast now that they had food. He was staring into the fridge when Stiles’ door was yanked open and Stiles spilled out into the living room.

“Ow! Damn it. Holes in jeans, tripping, ow. Toe.” Derek heard Stiles mutter.

“I’m not really sure what…” Derek began to say as he turned to watch Stiles walk into the kitchen but froze, nostrils flaring as he got a good whiff of the boy.

Stiles froze as Derek did, hands out as if bracing himself for something.

“What?! Is there something wrong? Am I about to step on something? Is there something on my face?” Stiles asked really quickly without moving.

Derek quickly shook his head and closed the fridge, going over to the cupboards on the other side of the kitchen to grab his usual glass on autopilot.

“Uh, no, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment. Go ahead and prepare anything you’d like for breakfast.” Derek assured him quickly as he filled his cup to the brim and quickly downed it in three gulps.

Derek couldn’t see what Stiles was doing but he didn’t have to. In fact, he didn’t even need his sense of hearing to tell where Stiles was, scent alone would give the boy away. As soon as the boy had stepped into the kitchen the scent of cum and arousal seemed to drench the air, choking Derek. The scent of Stiles was so strong, so _alluring_ that it had shocked Derek through and through. What was worse though was his wolf’s reaction: the strong urge to lunge at the boy and rub himself all over him, scent him and leave his own scent of spunk behind. It had nearly overwhelmed Derek and the only thing that had stopped him was the concentration it took to process Stiles’ words, to hear the sounds of his voice so he didn’t accidentally give in to his wolf and expose himself in more ways than one.

Once Derek was firmly back in control of himself, breathing in through his mouth and not his nose, he turned around to face the boy who was currently pulling fruits and yogurt from the fridge.

“I was thinking a fruit salad from breakfast. It’s fast and healthy and gives us the energy we need for the work we need to get done today. What do you think? That sound ok with you?”

It took Derek a moment to realize Stiles was actually talking to him and not to thin air since he was so concentrated on the sound of Stiles’ voice and not on his actual words.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s fine. Go ahead and make whatever you want. I’ll eat pretty much anything you make.” Derek confirmed and cleared his throat before grabbing another glass of water and chugging it down to cover his awkwardness.

Derek sat down at the table and watched Stiles work, watching the way he cut each apple, peach, and melon. It was almost mesmerizing watching the boy move. Derek could see the barely restrained energy in each movement and could hardly keep up with his answering grunts at every sentence or question Stiles threw his way. When Stiles finally sat two bowls of yogurt and fruit on the table Derek was completely lost at what to do or say.

“You feeling alright buddy? You look kind of spooked.” Stiles asked as he sat down across from Derek, back facing the living room.

“Uh, no, I’m fine. Just…mornings. I’m a little slow sometimes to wake up.” Derek said quickly, picking up his fork and stabbing a grape to shove in his mouth.

Stiles raised one eyebrow but just shrugged and started eating as well. They were more than halfway done when Derek finally registered everything that Stiles had been saying before.

“You know, we can take it easy today if you’d like. Everything in the left side of the garage requires heavy lifting and since we’ve been working so hard these past couple of days it’d be nice to have a down day. Besides, it’s Saturday. We should just do…stuff.” He finished awkwardly.

Stiles stared at him in contemplation, head tilting as he went over things in his head. Finally he shrugged and nodded.

“Alright, sounds good to me. We can pick it up next week or whenever we decide to clean again.”

“Cool. Is there anything you want to do today then?”

Stiles shrugged. “I dunno. I never have any down time so usually I just sleep or go to the library to job hunt.”

Derek nodded. “Well, I know that new superhero movie just came out and there’s a theater not twenty miles from here.”

“Oh! You mean the one with the lasers and robots in it?!” Stiles exclaimed, hands doing a little windmill in his excitement.

“Yeah, that one. I’m willing to pay for the ticket and snacks if you’d go with me.”

Stiles face quickly went from its usual creamy, pale color to a bright pink. “Uh, yeah, I…uh…that sounds good. Totally…good.”

“You ok?” Derek asked, putting his fork into his empty bowl and reaching over towards Stiles’ fidgeting hand, touching his knuckles lightly.

Stiles jumps a little but doesn’t pull away. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just not used to going anywhere with anyone, especially not with someone who would pay for me and ask me so nicely. It’s, uh, kinda cool.”

Derek watched him trip over his words and couldn’t help but feel his heart thump a little harder and his cheeks get a little warmer.

Derek clears his throat and nods, still not pulling his hand away. “Well, it’ll be a good thing to get you used to it.”

Somehow Stiles’ face manages to burn a little brighter, flushing a deeper red and Derek replays what he just said in his head and can’t help but feel like a complete and utter fool.

“Uh, wait, that sounded…that came out wrong. I meant that…you should have someone to go out with…wait…that still sounds wrong.” Derek just gives up and buries his face in his hand, finally pulling his other hand back.

Before he can fully pull away Stiles’ fingers catch his and Derek peeks at him from between his fingers, his face now just as red as Stiles’. So much for subtlety. He really sucked at this “conversation” thing.

“Uh, I know what you mean. It’s ok, I totally get it. That wording though, kinda hilarious.” Stiles chuckles and squeezes his fingers before retreating again.

Derek breathes deeply for a few more seconds before lowering his hand and staring at Stiles who is pointedly _not_ looking at him although if the shifting of his eyes mean anything, it clearly looks like he wants to. It’s kind of endearing actually.

And the fact that it’s endearing scares Derek a little, making him jolt from his relaxed state into a more alert manner. How had he let himself get so lost all of a sudden? Was he drunk on the scent of Stiles or something? It was frightening how just a month ago he was swearing up and down that he’d never let himself get close to another human being ever again and yet here he was, flirting with one. Although, this one was quite a bit different than the last. Human all the same though.

“Uh, right. I’m going to take care of the dishes. You can go get…washed up.” Derek said gruffly, quickly pushing his chair back and gathering up the bowls, dumping them in the sink and running the water.

“Right. I’ll…go shower then. I…uh. Yeah.” Stiles said awkwardly but Derek didn’t turn to watch him as he quickly pushed away from the table and retreated back to the guest bedroom.

As soon as he heard the door to the bathroom close and lock he shut off the water and ran to his room, fumbling for his phone plugged in on his night stand. Quickly he pulled up his contacts and dialed the first number there.

“ _Derek?”_

“Laura, I don’t know what to do.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an exciting chapter to write. I hope yalls enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

“ _Derek? Calm down. Take deeeep breaths Derek._ ” Laura’s voice on the other end of the line spoke slowly and soothingly.

“Laura, there’s this person…you were right… I’m not ready for this Laura.”

 _“Derek, stop.”_ Laura commanded and immediately Derek stopped his harsh breathing and froze in the middle of his pacing. _“Listen to me Derek Hale. You need to tell me what’s going on this instance or I will dial up mom on the other line.”_

Derek took a deep breath and let it out in a shuddery stream. “Ok. You know how you told me to clean my house and that I only had a month? Well, I didn’t clean it on my own. I hired someone to help me but I made a mistake when I hired them. I thought they were supposed to clean in the day and leave at night then come again in the morning but it turns out they were supposed to be able to stay at the house over night until the job was finished so I let them stay and it took almost two week for the job to be done and by that time I was…familiar with them.” Derek pauses when he hears his sister take a breath on the other side.

_“Derek…are you freaking out because you made a friend? Is this actually happening right now?”_

“No! That’s the thing Laura! After I realized I’d gotten attached I figured I might as well take your advice and try and make a friend so I hired him again but it didn’t happen that way! I _like_ him Laura. I can’t…I invited him to a movie just now and I worded it all weird and he smells so good and my wolf…I just… _Laura_!” Derek nearly sobs into the phone.

_“Ok, ok, I understand Derek. Listen, I’m getting in my car right now. It’ll take maybe thirty minutes for me to be there. I want you to calm down, take deep breaths, and keep yourself together until I get there and then we can talk. Have your…friend…go do something for a bit while we talk so he doesn’t overhear anything. Does that sound good?”_

Derek couldn’t help but feel slightly annoyed and yet incredibly relieved at the childish tone his sister was giving him. It made him feel both stupid and reassured at the same time.

“Alright. I’ll ask him to go pick up a few things at the store.”

_“Sounds good. Send him away before I get there, just in case.”_

“Ok.”

_“Ok. I’ll be there in twenty-five minutes. I love you. Keep yourself together just a little longer.”_

“Ok. Thanks.”

_“Any time baby bro.”_

When the line went dead Derek couldn’t help but feel a bit of panic well back up but he quickly shoved it down. He slowly began pacing his room, thinking up things to say to Stiles to get him out of the house for at least half an hour while his sister was here. When the shower went off in the other bathroom he froze and quickly grabbed a pen and paper and began jotting down a grocery list for Stiles to grab at a market at least twenty minutes away so he’d be out for as long as possible. He emerged from his room, stoic-faced and stilted as Stiles got dressed in his room, leaving his keys and some money on the counter as he finished writing up the list.

“Hey, can you grab a couple things from a market across town before the movies? Just a bit more so we’ll be stocked before you leave.” Derek felt his heart thump in fear at his slip of the tongue on the word “we’ll”.

This wasn’t Stiles’ house. It was his.

Stiles reached out and took the list, reading through it as Derek backed up a couple steps.

“Ice cream, cake, cookies… I didn’t know you had such a sweet tooth! Sure, I’ll grab these real quick so we don’t miss the movie.”

“Take your time! There’s no rush. The movie’s playing all day. You can just grab my keys from the counter; I need to shower as well.” Derek said as he retreated back into his room.

Stiles watched him with confused eyes but Derek couldn’t see any suspicion and was immensely grateful for that.

As soon as Stiles was out the door and driving down the driveway with a wad of cash Derek had left on the counter with his keys, Derek texted his sister to tell her that Stiles had just left and only had to wait another ten minutes before her car pulled up to his house. He threw open the door and rushed towards his sister as she climbed out of her car in a hurry, leaving her purse in the car in her haste.

Her arms wrap around him and the soothing scent of family and pack wash over him, stilling the fear that had climbed up and made root in his throat and chest. He hugged her tight and buried his face in her neck as she did the same. Her hands were carding gently through his hair, her mouth making small shushing noises into his ear.

“Come Der-bear, let’s sit down inside and talk slowly about this. This can’t be rushed.”

Derek drew in one last comforting breath and slowly let his sister go so they could walk inside. As soon as Laura walked past the threshold her nostrils flared and a single eyebrow went up but that was the only reaction she gave to the potent scent of Stiles in the house. They never opened windows until the last day of Stiles’ visit so his scent was incredibly strong, especially after Stiles had opened his door this morning and the scent of his arousal and cum had poured out into the rest of the house. Thankfully Laura didn’t say anything and simply made her way to Derek’s room where it smelled the least of Stiles and most of Derek so it’d be the most soothing place for him.

As soon as they were settled cross-legged, facing each other on Derek’s bed Laura nodded and said, “Alright, let’s start at the beginning. Where do you want to start?”

Derek shrugged, looking down at his hands where they played with Laura’s fingers. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t even mean for a friendship to form, let alone these…feelings. I don’t think I can do this Laura. I’m terrified of him but I want him so bad. It’d be better if I just let Stiles go home and never contacted him again.”

“I said beginning Derek. I take it this ‘Stiles’ is the one that you hired to clean your house the first time, the same one I smelled?” Derek nodded solemnly. “His scent was concentrated in your room so he must’ve stayed in here. It’s not that strange for you to form an attachment to him, especially after so long without any contact with anyone but your family. Werewolves are pack creatures Derek, you need constant contact or you’ll either end up losing yourself to your wolf or end up in a situation like this. You’re confused and scared and after what’s happened in the past I can understand it. It’s been nine years since you’ve let yourself get close to anyone else.”

Derek felt pain and guilt flood through him and immediately Laura was there, pulling him closer. “Hey, no, listen before you start all that. I _understand_ but I also think this is really good for you. All these insecurities, all these fears and doubts and confusing _things_ you’re feeling mean you _care_. With everyone you’ve met, your editors, fans, other locals, this is the first person you’ve felt positive things towards and it scares you but it also makes you happy. Derek, you shouldn’t push him away simply because you’re a little frightened.”

“Laura, the last time I felt these “positive” things my entire family almost ended up dead. I _can’t_ make that mistake against Laura, I just _can’t_! That’s not just something you get over! And even if I _were_ to somehow get over it there’s the fact that he’s a human and I’m a werewolf. We just don’t belong together. He’d be _terrified_ if he ever knew what we were and if he weren’t he’d _hate_ me and I just…I can’t Laura. For one, he doesn’t deserve to be haunted with a secret like that and for another, he’s so young!” Derek shook his head in disgust. Not disgust at Stiles or Laura but at himself.

“Derek, that’s a choice you’ll have to make on your own. Sure you should probably talk to mom and dad about revealing our nature to a human, especially since the last one you chose was so incredibly bad but ultimately, it’s your choice to choose and trust him. You and I both know that age and gender doesn’t matter. Species usually doesn’t matter either. Your wolf chose him for a reason and after so long of ignoring it I think you should listen for once. It could be very good for you.”

“It could also be very bad for both us and him. He’s so sad Laura, like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders and he doesn’t know what to do with it. He works so hard every day, all day and I don’t know why. Actually, I don’t really know anything about him. I just know that his name is Stiles Stilinski, he’s sixteen years old, and his father is the Sheriff. I know where he lives and he likes Batman more than Superman but I don’t know much more than that.”

Laura just kind of looks at him, smirking slightly with a single raised eyebrow and he frowns, confused.

“Derek, that sounds like you know a lot about him. I bet if you really think about it you’ll know the foods he likes, the kind of clothes he wears, what music he listens to, and even what he dreams about at night.” She gives a pointed look towards his door, meaning the room beyond the living room with the duffle bag full of half washed clothes.

Derek blushes as he thinks of all the answers to those examples his sister gave and is shocked to realize he does know most of those.

“What do you mean I know what he dreams about? How could anyone kn…” he cuts off at the sly look his sister gives him before flaring her nostrils meaningfully and quickly ducks his head as his face flushes all the way up to his ears. “Ok, I get your point. Still doesn’t mean I’m ready for this to happen.”

“Pshhh,” his sister gives a weird noise as if he’s just said the most ridiculous thing. “of course you’re not! You still need to get used to him, accept who and what he is and in turn accept yourself and everything that has happened and what will happen because if you continue this way you’ll truly be miserable for the rest of your life no matter how much your family is here for you. Of course I still need to meet him and mom and dad will want to meet him and then the pack is going to want to meet him…”

“Laura, not helping with the stress.” Derek growled.

Laura just laughs and pats his cheek. “I’m not going to tell on you yet baby brother. I wouldn’t do that, especially not when you’re this insecure about the whole thing. You don’t need that kind of stress.”

“You think?” he grumbles.

“Well, I won’t push you to do anything…too hard. What I think you should do is pursue this, albeit cautiously. Get to know him, get closer to him, figure out just what you can expect from this, though if the smell is anything to go by he’s totally digging you already. Then again, who doesn’t?” Laura laughs even as Derek scowls.

“You’re such a troublemaker. Why I listen to you is a mystery to me.”

“Because you love me and know I’m right.” She kisses him on the cheek. “Now, you done with your freak out session? Want to talk about your plans for today or even for the next time you see him?”

Derek heaves a sigh and shakes his head, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You know, honestly, I have no clue on where to go from here. I don’t know how to face him after realizing it isn’t friendship that I ended up feeling for him. It’s kind of like having to face a lie that just kept on growing bigger and bigger.”

“You know, for a writer you’re not very good with your words. How about you hire him exclusively. Every week he’ll come to clean your house and at the same time you two can bond. How does that sound?”

“I was…kind of already thinking that.”

“See?! Great minds think alike!” she pats her brother on the back and moves so she’s leaning against the wall, wagging her feet off the edge of the bed. “I really want to meet this Stiles now. What kind of person can get my baby brother so riled up?” she whips her head towards him and he startles. “Tell me about him. What does he look like? What made you keep him in the first place?”

Derek just shakes his head. “I am so not up for this yet.”

“Aw, come on! I wanna know! Tell me! Is he cute? I bet he’s fuckin’ adorable. He must be if you’ve taken such a liking towards him. I was a little surprised that you managed to keep it together for as long as this, especially if it smells like _this_ in the house.”

“It’s the first time it’s happened and I think that’s what essentially made me freak out.” Derek shrugged but he was smiling, finally relaxed. “You’d probably like him. Same motor mouth that you have but without the brain to mouth filter. He seems pretty smart but for some reason he’s not in school. It worries me.”

“Aw! You’re so cute Der-bear!” Laura laughed.

Derek wanted to frown but his sister’s laugh was contagious and couldn’t help but laugh as well…until the rumbling of a vehicle’s engine cut off outside.

“Shit! He’s back, Laura, he’s back. I don’t know what to say! You’re here and he’ll see you and…”

“Derek, shut up.” Laura reprimanded and Derek immediately cut himself off, feeling stupid for the sudden freak out.

For some reason his sister had a way of breaking down all his walls and boundaries and restraints he put on himself and had him acting like a little kid again. It was only her that had the ability to do that.

“You are going to greet him and introduce me like a proper gentleman then help him bring in the groceries and have a lovely time at the movies. Move slowly so that you don’t overwhelm yourself but try and make your intent clear since humans seem to have an issue with gender stuffs.”

“Gender stuffs? Really?” Derek bemoaned but was cut off by the sound of the car doors slamming and the rustle of plastic bags.

Derek quickly shot up from his bed, his features schooled into a mask of calmness as he quickly opened his bedroom door, Laura following him out into the living room as the front door opened.

Stiles walked in with at least three bags in each hand, mouth open as if he were about to say something but quickly shut it when his eyes settled on Derek and Laura.

“Ah, hey, uh, hi! I’m Stiles. I didn’t mean to just barge in like that with all the noise and banging but it was hard to open the door with so many bags and I didn’t want to put them down since it’s a hassle to pick back up and it’s either one trip or die trying! Uh…I’m the, uh, housekeeper…cleaner…person.” Stiles shifted from foot to foot at the awkwardness that was spewing from his mouth. “You know what, I’m just going to go put these down on the counter and then come back and do that all over again because I’m absolutely positive I just made a huge ass of myself. Excuse me.” Stiles laughed and quickly retreated to the kitchen.

Laura watched him with wide eyes before fixing her gaze upon her brother, mouth open slightly in astonishment. Derek just shrugged and nodded.

“See what I mean?”

“He’s fucking adorable. You’re keeping him. I don’t care what you say, you’re keeping him.” She whispered back before turning to greet Stiles as he awkwardly made his way back out.

“Stiles, it’s nice to finally meet you. My name’s Laura, I’m Derek’s older sister.”

Stiles’ shoulders visibly relaxed and the sour scent of anxiety and mild hurt seemed to vanish that Derek didn’t even realize was there since Stiles so often smelled like that. He felt bad at not having realized it was there in the first place and made a silent note to watch out for that from now on.

Laura seemed to pick up on it too if the nudge Derek got from her elbow was any indication when she went to shake Stiles’ hand.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Derek hasn’t told me anything about you aside from the fact that you exist. I saw the car and figured he had a guest but I hadn’t expected you to be standing in the living room so sorry for my rudeness.”

“It’s no problem at all. Now Stiles, Derek tells me you’ve helped out a lot over the past couple of months and I can’t thank you enough for all your work. He’s been cooped up here for years with no one around and it’s so nice to see him with someone again. Make sure he does his fair share of work though. Lazy little shit’s gonna end up lost in his sea of filth if he’s left to his own devices.”

“Laura!” Derek protests but Stiles just laughs loud and long and he can’t help but stare fondly at the boy.

“Well, I’m the one being paid so until that stops I’ll be the one taking care of him. Did you know he doesn’t know how to cook? How in the world has he survived on take-out alone for so long? His arteries are probably as clogged as a McDonald’s toilet on a Sunday afternoon.”

Laura lets out a startled burst of laughter at the comparison before falling into a full belly laugh and Derek just rolls his eyes, throwing his hands up in defeat.

“Whatever. You two go make fun of me somewhere else. I have groceries to put away.”

“You know you love it Der-bear, don’t lie.” Laura teased as Derek stalked away into the kitchen.

“Der-bear?” Stiles snickered and Derek froze, glaring at him from around the corner.

“Nuh uh, no. That nickname is completely off limits. Laura shouldn’t even be calling me that.” Derek grumbles, continuing to grumble even as Laura and Stiles burst out laughing once more.

Laura ends up staying, chatting away easily to Stiles while eating a slice of cake he’d gotten from the store. Derek watches them fondly from where he’s leaning against the counter until it’s time to leave for the movies. He’s much more relaxed now that he’s been able to talk things out with Laura. He’s not sure how far he’s willing to go into this but seeing Stiles’ innocent and easy banter with Laura really set his mind and heart at ease. Kate hadn’t gotten along with Laura at all and he’d ignored that sign, a sign he wasn’t willing to overlook this time.

“Have fun at the movies you two. No spoilers from either of you since I want to watch it too.”

“Fiiiiine.” Stiles moaned in mock disgruntlement but laughed as he waved her off.

“Love you Der-bear. Take care of Stiles! Don’t lose him in your trash piles!” she calls as she climbs into her car.

“Love you too.” Is all Derek says as he waves her away as well, Stiles by his side in the doorway. “What did you mean by ‘you two’?”

“Oh, we exchanged numbers. Dude, your sister is hilarious!” Stiles laughed as they closed the door.

“Well keep your hands to yourself, she’s engaged.” Derek warns.

Stiles gives a half startled laugh. “Trust me dude, you don’t have to worry about that.” He assures him.

“Good.” Derek chuckles.

“Heh, you have no idea.” He mumbles.

Derek gives him an odd look but Stiles is already darting off to grab his shoes from where he left them under the table.

On the way to the movie theater Stiles was unusually quiet and Derek didn’t push it until they were in line at the concession stands.

“You feeling alright Stiles?”

Stiles gives him a slightly startled look before looking back down at the ground almost guiltily. “Yeah! Totally fine. Why?”

“You seem…distressed. Is this because I asked you to keep your hands off my sister? I was joking you know?”

Stiles gives him what Derek thinks is supposed to be a reassuring smile but just looks sad and out of place.

“No way dude, I totally get why you’d say it. She’s a female, I’m a male, we hit it off pretty good and that’s what anybody would think, right?” he gives another forced chuckle all the while smelling like hurt and sadness and Derek doesn’t understand why.

“I’m not just anybody Stiles. I understand that it wasn’t like that.”

“Yeah, no, I know. I just meant…urgh, this is hard to explain without feeling embarrassed and slightly terrified.” Stiles mumbles.

Derek grabs his arm and pulls him out of the line, away from the other people. The feeling of sorrow pouring off the boy is making his wolf scratch at his skin, begging to comfort the boy. Once he’s out of earshot of the other humans he turns Stiles to look at him, standing only a foot away.

“Stiles, you don’t have to be scared or embarrassed. I don’t know what it is you’re trying to say but whatever it is I won’t judge you for it if that’s what you’re thinking. You seem really put out by this and I really don’t like when you feel that way if I can fix it or if I’m the cause of it.”

Stiles gives a small chuckle. “How is it that you know exactly what to say now? You were floundering pretty awesomely a while ago. Made me feel articulate.”

“I, uh, I just want to make sure you’re ok.” He says gruffly, turning his head in embarrassment. “And that you know I won’t judge you.”

Stiles stares at him for many long seconds before finally sighing and running a hand through his buzz cut hair. “Ok, well, the thing is…I don’t really have a thing for chicks…well, I mean, I do but not right now.”

Derek feels his heart leap in his chest. For a while longer they stand there, looking at each other with a mixture of hope, fear, and a slight bit of apprehension.

Finally Derek says, “Well…neither do I.”

That single sentence has Stiles’ heart beating like crazy, his face flushing a soft shade of red and somehow that makes Derek feel much better with how these things are proceeding.

After a bit more staring at each other Stiles clears his throat and looks back towards the concession lines that have thinned a bit the closer it gets to movie time.

“I actually feel much better now that I’ve gotten that off my chest and am now fully set on grabbing the largest popcorn and slushie they have of every flavor and enjoying it inside a dark movie theater while watching a great movie. What say you?”

Derek rolls his eyes and gives a huff of laughter. “I say let’s get to it before all the good seats are taken and we’re stuck in the neck breaker seats.”

Stiles laughs as they get back in line. “Neck breaker seats. That’s hilarious and true.”

Derek buys Stiles his horrid concoction of frozen flavors and the largest popcorn, ignoring Stiles demand to pay for half, and they finally make their way into the large theater, sitting side by side in the middle rows, their arms almost laid on top of each other on the middle armrest and if asked after the movie Derek wouldn’t be able to give the plot line if his life depended on it. Thank goodness it didn’t because when the movie finally ended and the lights turned back on Derek turned to see that Stiles eyes were fixed on his face, only darting away when he realized that Derek was looking back.

Derek felt a bit smug on the ride back, glancing at Stiles out of the corner of his eye every now and again to find him staring at him more often than not and felt that maybe, just _maybe_ , he could do this. If it was Stiles, he might be able to do it.


	12. Chapter 12

Stiles couldn’t help but feel a nervousness deep in his belly. He’d just ousted himself to Derek, practically telling him straight out that he was attracted to him and _how_ in the world has Derek _still_ not thrown him out was beyond him. If he were to give himself a chance Stiles was sure he’d be able to give this ‘thing’, whatever it was, a try but he just couldn’t. He’d already gone too far by telling Derek he ‘liked him’ even if it weren’t in those exact words.

He needed to distance himself. He just hoped he had the will to do it.

Once they returned to Derek’s house he quickly rushed to his room, throwing all his clothes and affects into his duffle bag, needing to be out of the house, away from Derek…away from temptation. He glanced at the bed, staring at the rumpled blankets he’d relieved himself in not twenty-four hours ago and sighed at the longing he felt.

This was getting ridiculous.

Derek was waiting outside the room when he finally walked out with all of his stuff. Stiles blushed, guilt and something akin to sadness welled up in him when he thought that maybe he shouldn’t come back. None of this was Derek’s fault, in fact, Derek was perhaps a little too perfect and somehow that made it all the worse.

“So, uhm, I need to get back so that I can start my nightshift at the diner.” Stiles lied so that he at least had a ‘reasonable’ excuse to get away from Derek before he could ruin anything with his feelings.

Derek looked taken aback and maybe even a little hurt at Stiles’ words and Stiles prayed Derek wouldn’t question him and breathed a silent heave of relief when all Derek did was nod, tight lipped.

“Sorry,” he said as they walked to the car, “I…” Stiles just shook his head.

For the life of him he couldn’t come up with a decent enough sentence to explain what was going on inside him.

Derek simply nodded and quickly ducked into the driver’s seat, starting the engine while Stiles piled his stuff into the back seat and climbed into the passenger’s seat. The drive to Stiles’ house was filled with silence. It hung heavy in the air between them. Whenever Stiles would glance over at Derek he’d seen an increasingly deep frown across his forehead as well as a perplexed and hurt look in his eyes. About ten minutes from Stiles’ house Derek broke the silence.

“Are you ok?”

Stiles startled at the unexpected question, tensing, and open and closed his mouth a few times before deflating into his seat.

“You know, I’m not really sure.” He whispered, looking down at his fidgeting fingers.

Derek nodded and drove in silence for a little longer before opening his mouth once more.

“Stiles, I don’t really know you very well but I know enough to know you’re not ok where you are right now. I’m…worried.” He said gruffly, glaring hard out the windshield.

Stiles stares at him, startled before sighing.

“I guess you’re right. Is this your subtle way of trying to tell me to talk about it?”

“This is my subtle way of telling you that I’ll listen.”

Stiles gapes at him for all of two seconds before looking back at his twiddling thumbs. “Oh.”

They’re silent again until they pull up to Stiles’ house but he doesn’t climb out. His chest and head are filled with emotions and thoughts that he’s been trying to keep squashed down. If he told Derek everything now he’d no doubt hate him, he’d think he was stupid and never want to talk to him again. It was something he just couldn’t do. He _liked_ Derek.

Holy shit.

He _liked_ Derek. Like….like liked Derek.

This was a disaster. A disaster he didn’t know how to get out of. Maybe if he just dove in deep enough he’d finally be done with it, find the bottom if there was one. But that’d take a lot of guts he didn’t have. Yet. Finally he looked up, finally getting his mind in the right place.

“I will tell you everything…but not now. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it right now. You’re…too good for me.” Stiles chuckled humorlessly but was startled out of his self-depreciation when Derek let out an angry sound.

“You have no _idea_ what I’ve done. I have my own demons too Stiles. Trust me, I’m not too good for you. If anything you are so beyond my grasp it’s funny I’m even thinking about it.”

Stiles heart stuttered in his chest at the implied meaning behind those words. Derek was _thinking_ about grasping for Stiles. That meant something, right? Stiles shook his head. It was probably just grasping towards friendship…he could live with thinking that. If he were to hope for anything else Stiles was sure it’d damage him even worse.

“Are we friends?” Stiles asks after several minutes of deep thinking.

Derek jerks his head in his direction, brow furrowed in either concentration or annoyance, Stiles isn’t sure which.

“I…think so. If you’d like to be friends then…sure. I thought that was where this was headed.” Derek says the last part so quietly Stiles isn’t sure if there was something hidden in those words of if they were simply just words. He can’t say.

“Ok, good. It’s nice to have friends.” Stiles smiled and finally opened his door, stepping out of the car.

“Uh, I was thinking…” Derek said when Stiles opened the back door to grab his bag. “Would you like to be singularly employed by me instead of by the company? I’ll pay you double what you’re making now. You might even be able to quit some of the other jobs.”

Stiles is so completely startled by this that he drops his bag. Cursing he picks it back up and slings it over his shoulder.

“Dude, that’s a lot of money and I don’t really do anything except clean your house. I eat your food and use your water and take up a room whenever I’m there. I mean…that’s gotta be really inconvenient.”

Derek shook his head quickly. “I wouldn’t offer it if I didn’t mean it. You should be going to school and worrying about homework and tests and what to wear the next day instead of worrying about making enough money for whatever it is you’re saving for and I’m sure your dad must be worried sick.”

Stiles feels like a pit opened up in his stomach at the reminder of his father. Guilt and sorrow pour through him at the thought of his father finding out what he’s been doing. He’d definitely not approve of any of it.

“I…uh…well, that’s kind of an intense offer. I’ll have to think about it. I mean…what if you change your mind and get sick of me, I’ll have nowhere to go.” Stiles’ voice breaks.

Derek stares at him with such intensity that it makes him shift from foot to foot, looking anywhere but at Derek.

“I mean it Stiles. You need to be in school, going through classes so that when you graduate you’ll be able to at least graduate with all of your friends _and_ have a high school diploma. Then maybe you’ll be able to get a better job somewhere. College could even become an option.”

There was a panicked feeling in Stiles’ chest at the hopes that Derek were bringing up in him. It was just too impossible at the moment and to start hoping would be more pain than to simply not. So he puts up one hand and takes deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. He didn’t need to have a panic attack right here.

“One thing at a time dude. I can’t handle everything at once. I need to have at least three days before I really commit to anything since any quicker and I’d have not thought it through enough.”

There’s silence for several beats before Stiles hears Derek shift in his seat.

“Alright. Until then you should get some rest and text or call me if you need anything. Even if you don’t need anything…still text.”

Stiles looks at his blank face for a few seconds before nodding.

“I’ll text you later then.”

Derek nods and turns back around in his seat to face forward. Stiles takes that as his cue for closing the door and heading into his house. Derek’s car idles by the sidewalk until Stiles is through the door and shutting it behind him before speeding off.

Stiles sinks to the ground, legs turned to nerveless jelly. His mind seems to be on an endless loop of all the possibilities set before him all of a sudden. It was all so overwhelming he could only sit there with his head in his hands for several minutes before picking himself back up and trudging up the stairs to his nearly empty room.

Staring at his blank walls and empty floor had the guilt and sadness overwhelming him once more. There was just too much…he couldn’t handle it.

Sinking into his bed he covered his face and cried. Silent tears wet his face and his hands, trailing down his wrists. He was so alone, so overwhelmed, so lost… It was too much.

Stiles cried himself to sleep that night, like most nights when he was alone in his dark room. Even in his sleep his mind was restless, nightmare after guilt induced nightmare flitted through his mind, torturing him. In the morning he didn’t feel at all rested as he showered and got ready for work.

On the second day after Derek’d dropped him off he began considering telling Derek everything. The burden lay so heavily in his chest that it weighed him down through everything he did. Maybe if he had someone to talk to he’d be able to he’d feel less like he was drowning and more like there was an end to this madness.

On the third day he decided to call Derek.

“Uh, hey Derek. You’re phone’s probably dead or off or something, sorry for bothering you. I just wanted to tell you that I thought about what you said and maybe I would like to talk about…things…if you wanted. If you’ve changed your mind I totally understand. So, uh, feel free to call or text whenever. I’ll…”

The dial tone cut him off at the end of his message. For a couple seconds he panicked, thought of calling him back, but decided against it since leaving one message was more than enough, even a half though out one like the monstrosity he just left. His feelings were so conflicted but his mind needed the relief.

He only had to wait two anxious filled hours before his phone started ringing, Derek’s name flashing on the screen. It only rang once before he answered.

“Hello?” he answered a little over eager.

_“Stiles. Sorry about missing your call earlier. I hadn’t realized my phone had died until I pulled it out to check for messages. I got your voicemail.”_

“Right, that thing. I…uh… You know, I spend most of my time talking but when it comes right down to it I have no idea what to say.” Stiles chuckled nervously, his heart pitter-pattering in his chest.

_“Would you feel better if I came over and we spoke in person? It might be able to talk to a real person than to a phone.”_

Derek’s logic was sound and Stiles found himself nodding in agreement for a second before realizing Derek couldn’t see his nod.

“Right! Uh, yeah, that would probably be better. But…uh…if it’s an inconvenience then there’s no need to come over, I’d totally understand if…”

_“Stiles, I offered, I’m fine with coming over. Give me thirty minutes and I’ll be there.”_

Stiles swallowed nervously and almost did the nodding thing again but caught himself.

“Right. I’ll see you when you get here then.” He choked out weakly.

_“See you in a bit.”_

The phone felt heavy in his hand when Stiles pulled it away from his ear. This was actually happening. He’d been psyching himself up for days for this but when faced with the real possibility of it he kind of felt like he was breathing without air. It was disconcerting.

The next thirty minutes were spent pacing back and forth in front of the front door biting his nails nervously. The sound of the Camaro pulling into his drive had his heart racketing around in his ribcage. By the time Derek knocked on the door Stiles had worked himself up into a frenzy. Before he opened the door he took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm himself but even when he turned the handle he felt no calmer than five seconds ago.

Derek stood there in his doorway looking like a god in his leather jacket, typical grey Henley, and some tight black jeans. Oh yeah, he looked good.

Stiles shook himself to clear the unwanted (totally wanted) lewd thoughts from his head before they started (oh, they’ve already started alright).

“Hi Derek. Thanks for getting here so fast.” Stiles said quickly while moving aside to let him in with a sweep of an inviting hand.

The scent that wafted through the air as Derek passed felt like it could intoxicate Stiles if he weren’t careful and he quickly turned away and shut the door before he forgot while he floated after Derek. When he got into the living room Derek was already seated on the couch, one leg crossed over the other.

“Well, make yourself comfortable then.” Stiles laughed. “You want something to eat or drink? I have water and I think I can manage to scrounge up a sandwich or something.”

Derek just shook his head and patted the couch next to him. “I’m good. I’m here to listen to you, not steal your food.”

Stiles smiled a small smile and moved to take the seat beside Derek barely half a cushion away.

“So…where to start?” he said quietly, sitting back against the couch and twiddling his thumbs once again. That seemed to be a habit in Derek’s presence.

“How about you start from the beginning?”


	13. Chapter 13

“Beginning. Oh goodness. Where is the beginning?” Stiles chuckled nervously.

“The beginning is wherever you want to start. You don’t have to tell me everything at once if you don’t want to.”

Stiles nodded. “That sounds reasonable. Well, uh, I guess I’ll start when I was eight,” Stiles cleared his throat, his voice strained, “when my mom died.”

Derek tensed beside him for a moment, the intense feeling of sorrow and anger and guilt radiated from the boy so severely that it felt like a physical blow. Seeing the panic in Stiles’ eyes he forced himself to relax and nod for Stiles to continue. Stiles drew in a few steadying breaths before he continued.

“She was…sick. Really sick. I knew it for a while before she was hospitalized but I didn’t really understand the true depth of her sickness until I saw her…in the hospital. It was like she’d gone crazy but then they gave her something and she seemed to return almost to normal. But she was so weak. She…” Stiles paused, taking deep breaths that Derek knew was a habit the boy had when he got stressed. “Well…she didn’t make it.”

Derek didn’t say anything in the pause as Stiles tried to collect himself. He didn’t try and touch him either since that probably wouldn’t be comforting coming from him. After a bit of silence Stiles continued.

“I started getting panic attacks after that. I still get them sometimes, more often in the last few months than I have in years. It’s like I’m drowning, like there’s air but I can’t grasp it, can’t suck it into my lungs. I can’t think, there’s only fear and pain and it’s nearly blinding.”

Stiles began shaking and this time Derek couldn’t help but reach out, his instincts crying out to comfort the boy, try and take the pain he knew was there even if it wasn’t a physical thing. Derek’s touch seemed to have an immediate effect, the tense muscles in Stiles’ arm slowly relaxing under his warm hand.

“I almost killed my father.”

The sentence hit Derek like a brick. This was not what he’d expected to hear from Stiles. He stared at Stiles hard, reading the powerful guilt and sorrow in both his scent and his posture as Stiles hunched into himself, wrapping his arms around him as if he could keep himself together that way. When Stiles didn’t elaborate Derek tightened his grip slightly on his arm.

“Stiles, I don’t understand.”

Stiles shook his head violently, running his hand punishingly through his short hair.

“I was out in the woods being a moron in the middle of the night and accidentally fell in a hole. I freaked out and called my dad. He came and got me but on the way back he had a heart attack.” Stiles was barely whispering through the last words, his voice strained and scent so sour with sorrow that Derek felt like he was choking on it. “He’d freaked out when I wasn’t in my room when he got home and then freaked out even more when I called to tell him I was stuck and scared. He’d thought I’d been kidnapped and then when we were driving home it just all…hit. He had a heart attack and the car crashed and now he’s been in a medicated coma for the last five months.”

Stiles sobbed, breaking through his last few sentences. Derek didn’t think twice when he grabbed Stiles hard and pulled him into his lap, cradling his head and his back as the boy sobbed into his shoulder. The shuddering of Stiles’ body and the salty scent of tears made Derek want to cry for him but he needed to be strong for Stiles.

“It’s all my fault!” Stiles cried loudly, brokenly, into his shirt.

Derek growled deep in his chest and soothed his hand down Stiles’ back over and over, gently rocking him.

Stiles sobbed for long minutes, crying out over and over that it was his fault that his father was in a coma that his father may never wake up and that Stiles would be the one that killed him. Derek just continued to gently rock him, making small shushing noises into his hair. The boy’s tears were wet and hot through his shirt but he didn’t care. Holding Stiles was the only thing he could do, the only thing he wanted to do. The boy didn’t deserve this guilt and sorrow; he didn’t deserve to be thinking like this. But Derek understood the extent of self-blame. He still did the same thing for something that happened nine years ago. He’d been fifteen at the time, even younger than Stiles.

After twenty long minutes Stiles had calmed to simply breathing a little brokenly against his shoulder, hands clutching his shirt tightly and body pressed in close to Derek’s. It was incredibly comfortable for Derek and he hoped it was comfortable for Stiles as well. Only a couple minutes after he thought that, though, Stiles shifted backwards and Derek let him.

“I’m sorry. I just made a huge ass out of myself and snotted all over your shirt. Ugh. I must look hideous.” Stiles attempted at a chuckle that was quickly lost in a half sob.

Derek shook his head and reached up to wipe the last of Stiles’ tears from his red cheeks.

“You look fine.” Derek said gruffly, his voice a little deeper than usual.

Stiles rolled his eyes and started to climb off Derek’s lap. Derek held onto his waist to keep him sitting there, looking sternly into his eyes.

“Stiles, you are not to blame. Your father’s heart attack could not have been predicted or prevented. He was doing what any father would, worrying about his son. You had no control over that.”

Stiles opened his mouth, brow furrowed but Derek just put a hand to his mouth and shook his head.

“I understand what you mean, I understand why you blame yourself but I’m telling you now your guilt is misplaced.”

Stiles still looked as if he wanted to contradict Derek so he didn’t move his hand.

“Is that why you’ve been working so much? To pay for your father’s medical bills?”

Once again Stiles’ scent soured to a deep sorrow as he hesitantly nodded against Derek’s hand.

“While I agree that hospitals and medicines are both pretty expensive things, you shouldn’t have to be paying for this right now. There are plans that are given to a patient’s family specifically _for_ the purpose of paying after release. What plan are you on that makes it so that you have to pay now?”

Stiles reaches up and gently tugs Derek’s hand away, holding on to it even after it’s settled into his lap.

“I’m not on any plan. The doctors said that because of the severity of my dad’s heart attack and then the car crash he’d been put under a different program in the hospital. They needed payments to pay for his treatments or he’d have to be transferred to a hospital an hour away.”

Derek felt anger welling up inside of him as Stiles continued to explain just how _much_ he’s been having to pay per month to keep getting medicine and treatments for his father.

“Stiles my family owns many hospitals all over the country and this has never happened before. Never. Stiles, they’re scamming you. $3,000 per week* is an insane amount, even without insurance, which, if you’re father really _is_ the Sheriff, you should both have, it should only cost a couple hundred dollars a month while the patient is in the hospital if that’s the route they take.”

Stiles stared at him with wide, scared eyes.

“What? But…these are the people I’ve known practically my whole life. My best friend’s mom works there. She’d definitely know if they were scamming me.”

“Does she know how much you’ve been paying? Have you told her?”

Stiles opens his mouth but pauses, thinking, before shutting it again and shaking  his head.

“That’s why she doesn’t know. Scammers don’t advertise their scams so she probably has no idea.”

Derek shifts Stiles off of his lap and beside him so that they had just a bit of distance so there was absolutely no influence from him when he asked Stiles his question.

“Look, I know you barely know me or my family but… would you think about moving your father to one of our hospitals? My uncle runs the closest hospital and would gladly take your father in if I ask. You won’t even be charged for any of his treatment.”

Derek could hear the beating of Stiles’ heart pick up as he stared up at him, eyes wide and filled with hope and what looked like fear.

“I…I couldn’t… I just…” Stiles stopped and closed his eyes, taking more deep breaths and slowly his heartbeat slowed to a more normal rate although still slightly elevated. “I think that first we should have someone assess the actual damage of my father. If what you said is true then I don’t even know if they’re really helping him. I need to… know…if he even has a chance at…surviving.”

Stiles’ words were choppy, broken by the emotion in his voice, at the panic Derek could sense that was threatening to break through. Quickly Derek set his hand on top of Stiles’ that was still clutching his other hand and leaned in a little closer.

“Stiles, calm down. It’ll be alright. I’ll call my sister and uncle in the morning so we can all go down to the hospital and check on your father together. My sister is one of the best lawyers around and my uncle knows more about the medical field than any doctor in Beacon Hills. You and you’re father will be taken care of, I promise.”

Derek watched the insecurity and dozens of emotions flash through Stiles’ face before finally it settled into hope and Derek could feel him relax. The scent of exhaustion became the strongest scent now that the cloying guilt and sorrow had been momentarily soothed.

“You should sleep. Tomorrow’s probably going to be tough.”

Stiles nodded and leaned his head against Derek’s shoulder, heaving out a long sigh before inhaling on a big yawn. Derek gripped him and tugged him until he was standing, although it was more like leaning heavily on Derek than on his own legs.

“Will you…stay? I mean…it’ll be easier for you instead of having to drive all the way back to your place and the hospital is only like ten miles away and…”

“I’ll stay Stiles.” Derek interrupted him and smiled at the way Stiles sagged against him in relief.

Derek walked Stiles up the stairs and followed the scent of Stiles until he reached a closed door that seemed to radiate his scent. Opening it he stopped short, shocked at how incredibly empty the room was. There were a few stacks of clothes against the wall next to the bed but other than those two things and a charger plugged into the wall there was nothing. Even the bed was barren except for a pile of clothes, a duffle bag and a single blanket.

“Is this your room?”

Stiles lifted his head and looked around. “Yup.”

“There’s nothing in here.”

“Sold it all.”

“Jeezus.” Derek muttered, walking Stiles to his bed.

Once Stiles was settled he pulled the blanket over him and headed back towards the door.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“’Kay. G’night.” Stiles mumbled before he fell quickly to sleep even before Derek could close the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I changed the amount of money it costs from $2,300 per month to $3,000 per week because it was brought to my attention that I'm a dumbass and should definitely do my research! Haha! Thank you so much A_F_WolfSlinx for catching this ridiculously inaccurate mistake. I hope this fixes it a bit. I did a lot of math to work out a realistic amount that Stiles could be making per week with real jobs and real wages and this was the closest I could get to realistic. I'll do my best to keep the story as realistic as a werewolf fic can be!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone! I'm going on vacation for the next week so there won't be any posts until January probably but I will be writing so I'll definitely post as soon as I get back. I hope yalls have a wonderful holiday season!

The house was quiet when Derek woke up around seven that morning. Laying there he listened for Stiles upstairs but there was nothing. No heartbeat, no breath, nothing.

Worried, Derek vaulted off the couch and up the stairs in three supernatural strides, jerking open Stiles’ door to find the bed made and no Stiles in it. His heart rate racketed through the roof as he leaped down the stairs and to his phone where he’d left it on the floor next to the couch. The blue blinking light at the top indicated an unread message.

Quickly he lit up the screen and saw a text message from Stiles sent around 2am. It read: _I frgot i had wrk ths mrning, srry bout tht. Ill ask fr the rest of tday off frm my othr jbs. Ttyl._ The breath wooshed out of Derek in a gush of relief that something hadn’t happened to Stiles. Well, he might as well get in contact with Laura and Peter. Derek had no doubt that if he explained who Stiles was and what he meant to him and the situation he was in they’d help in a heartbeat.

He contacted his uncle first since he was the farthest away, at least two hours. Derek didn’t even need to explain the full situation. As soon as Derek told him he needed Peter’s help Peter was already agreeing since Derek _never_ asks for help. Laura agreed just as readily and promised to be at the appointed address in an hour tops.

Stiles still wasn’t home by the time Laura rolled around an hour later and still not an hour after that when Peter arrived at nine. Derek sent off a quick text saying they were at Stiles’ house and ready to go whenever he was ready. It took twenty minutes to get a reply.

_Oh! Srry! Im jst leaving the dinr. I had to chk in wit my 3 othr jbs to let thm kno id b takin the rest of the day off._

Derek relayed the message and waited for Stiles to get back.

~~

Stiles was anxious…like…. _really_ anxious. Throughout his entire shift at the gas station this morning that lasted from two to six and then during the two hours he’s been jittery and on edge about the upcoming events. He didn’t know if he could trust these new people even if they were Derek’s family. When he really thinks about it he’s only known Derek for a little over two months since he was hired back in late June. Now he was about to trust him and his family with his _dad’s_ life. Maybe if it was his own life he’d be less apprehensive but this was his dad, the only one he had left in the whole wide world.

It terrified him.

These jobs though were becoming too much for him. He was thin and hungry and getting sick more and more often. One too many times he’d fainted on the job and was fired from the car garage across town. If Derek could fix this then he was willing to give this a chance.

On the way home after working an hour at the diner in exchange for the night off and checking in with his other jobs at the superstore where he worked as a cashier, the bookstore where he restocked, and the Random restaurant chain he worked as a waiter and host to make sure he could take the day off, he finally had time to think about how all of this was going to go down.

Derek’s uncle would check out his father’s condition while his sister would talk with the hospital staff that was treating his father, staff who _wasn’t_ treating his father to get the rundown of how things were _supposed_ to work, and to the manager of the hospital, or whatever they were called. Director? Super Intendant? Stiles shook his head and focused on the road in front of him. He was almost home.

There were three cars parked in front of his house, two he recognized and one he didn’t so he was guessing that was Derek’s uncle’s. He parked beside Laura’s car in the driveway and quickly gathered his uniforms from the front seat and took several deep, calming breaths before getting out of the Jeep and locking it, briskly walking towards his front door.

The door opened before he could reach for the knob and he startled back when a blonde man with devilishly good looks (in an older, more mature kind of way) stood in his doorway smiling at him.

“Stiles! Nice to see you!” the man tugged Stiles in and tucked him under his arm as he slammed the door closed.

Stiles walked rigidly next to the man, confused and more than a little nervous at the sudden and weird treatment. Derek was standing just inside the living room with a frown on his face even though his eyes danced with amusement. Laura stood next to him blatantly entertained by this strange man’s behavior.

“Peter, let the poor boy go. You’re going to traumatize him.” Laura commanded even though she was still smiling widely and her tone was just shy of laughing.

Stiles felt the man’s chest vibrate with a laugh against his shoulder.

“Oh please, I’m just saying hello.”

“Peter.” Derek growled and finally Peter’s arm let up off Stiles’ shoulder and he darted away to stand a bit behind Derek and Laura to stare at the man.

Peter’s blue eyes sparkled mischievously at him and Stiles thought that if he wasn’t giving off such creepy vibes they would probably really get along.

“So, Stiles, Derek tells me you have a problem I can help fix. Mind telling me what it’s about?”

Stiles looks up at Derek, startled. “You didn’t tell them?”

“It wasn’t for me to tell.”

Stiles nods and feels a rush of warmth for the man.

“Oh. Thank you.”

Derek just nods and moves towards the couch and everyone else does the same until they’re all sitting, Stiles next to Derek and Laura and Peter forced into the other seat with a pout.

“Well, um, my dad and I got into a car crash about five months ago and when I told Derek how much I was paying for my dad’s life support he told me I was being scammed. He thought you two would be able to help.”

Peter nods, face finally serious. “That does sound a problem. How much are you paying?”

“Three thousand a week.”

Peter just nods and narrows his eyes a bit, thinking. Stiles looks over at Laura to see that she’s also making a similar face.

“Ok, well, if you’re already paying it then there’s something obviously wrong here but three thousand isn’t that bad of a price per week. Life support can cost a lot more than that depending on the severity of the patient, the life insurance you have, and the hospital you go to.”

Stiles’ face paled.

“You mean I’m going to have to pay more?” _I’ll die,_ he thinks.

“How about we go check on your father’s condition before we make any more assumptions.”

Stiles nods numbly, trying to calculate his hours and pay if he were to get another job. He was already only sleeping four hours a night but if he were to cut that in half he might be able to take on another job. Hopefully one that pays more.

“Stiles. You going to be ok? If you don’t want to do this you can just say so.” Derek says quietly and Stiles jumps, looking up at him and shaking his head.

“Please help me.” He pleads, his voice coming out more desperate than he intended.

Derek’s face scrunches up in what looks like pain for a second before smoothing back out and nodding. “I swear I will do everything I can.”

Stiles takes a deep breath and nods, pulling himself together. “Right. That’s all I can ask for. Thank you so much.” He says to everyone.

Peter gives him what looks like a genuine smile and Laura rubs his back before standing up.

They all take their own cars except for Stiles who rides with Derek to save on gas. With each minute that passes Stiles’ palms get sweatier and sweatier. The closer they get to the hospital the more nervous he gets until Derek reaches over and set a warm hand on his knee, drawing his attention. Stiles looks up at Derek with wide, scared eyes and sees the reassurance and comfort in his gaze and finally he feels his stomach start to unclench. Everything fades away as he focuses on Derek’s hand. When they finally arrive at their destination Stiles feels almost calm.

When Derek takes away his hand to climb out of the vehicle the world seems to zoom back into high definition, his feelings sparking that nervous fire once again until Derek opens his door and holds out his hand. Stiles feels a bit ridiculous at being treated like a girl but for some reason there’s an intense sense of relief at taking Derek’s hand and being pulled from the car. Even when he’s cleared the car and the door is slammed behind him Derek doesn’t let go of his hand and Stiles feels a bit bad for having clammy hands.

“It’ll be ok. Things’ll be straightened out.”

“I hope so.” Stiles says as they join Peter and Laura at the hospital entrance.

The first thing Stiles is hit with is the smell of disinfectants and medicine which never fails to bring back memories of his mother from when she was the one lying in a hospital bed. Now that his father is there and it’s because of him it’s like a double whammy, an insult to injury. It’s terrifying.

Derek squeezes his hand again to keep him steady as he starts breathing a little harder. His father’s room is right there but he feels frozen on the spot. Peter and Laura were nowhere to be found and Stiles wondered how long he’d been standing there silently freaking out. It was embarrassing and depressing at the same time.

“Sorry, let’s go in.” Stiles mumbles and reaches out a hesitant hand for the doorknob.

Derek doesn’t rush him and gives Stiles the time he needs to psych himself up for this and he’s so incredibly grateful he could cry.

The scene is the just the same as always: his father is lying on the small, white hospital bed, clothed in a paper dress, and hooked up to a dozen different machines through a baker’s dozen of tubes. He’s so thin, so fragile that it tears at Stiles’ heart every single time he sees him. And his eyes are still closed. There’s always a small bit of hope that maybe, just _maybe_ , the next time he came in his dad’s eyes would be open and he’d be smiling and saying he’d had a hell of a dream. But he wasn’t.

Stiles bit back on the rising burn of tears and gently pulled Derek forward, his grip on his hand deathly tight. The methodic beeping of his father’s heartbeat was at least a small reassurance that he wasn’t as dead as he looked covered in bandages and tape where needles were held under his skin.

Carefully Stiles extended his hand and laid his shaking fingers against his father’s cold hand and gently gripped. There was no fighting back the tears when his father’s fingers didn’t clutch back and they dripped down his face, soaking his shirt into a darker blue.

“Hey dad. I, uh, I brought a friend with me this time. He said they’re going to try and help us, help get you well again. You haven’t met him but I bet you’d like him. Or maybe you wouldn’t since he looks like the typical hooligans you used to arrest but I swear he’s a great guy.”

Derek squeezes his hand and Stiles looks up at him with a small, sad smile.

Stiles sits in the chair by his father’s bedside and Derek takes the seat next to him so they can still hold hands while Stiles talks to his father, telling him about the situation they were in, about how Derek’s family offered to help, and how much he missed him and how very, very sorry he was that all of this happened. Derek moved to comfort Stiles when the door opened and Laura came striding in looking pissed to hell, followed by an equally pissed Peter and three terrified hospital employees. Two of which Stiles recognized.

Peter closed the door behind all of them once they’d shuffled in and Stiles stood, confused and worried by this tense atmosphere.

“What’s going on?” Stiles asked, voice pitched high and worried.

“These three fucktards have been illegally manipulating funds and stealing from you and your father.” Laura hissed, glaring at the three of them like she wanted to tear into them.

Stiles stood there frozen staring at Laura. “What about my father? Is he at least getting better?”

Peter steps forward with a chart, presumably his father’s. “From what’s written here it says he’s receiving several different drugs but I pulled the latest blood test that runs automatically through three different machines your father is hooked up to but none of these drugs are in his system except for a single strong sedative which is most likely the reason why your father hasn’t woken up yet. I need to check underneath the bandages.” He says in a rush and quickly steps for Stiles’ father.

Panic floods Stiles and he steps in front of Peter, protecting his father.

“No, please, the results could be wrong, he could still be healing.” Stiles gasps.

Peter stops and gives Stiles a long look before his face smooths out a bit, gently patting Stiles on the shoulder.

“Stiles, I am a professional in this field, I have treated more people than possibly anyone in this hospital and handle each patient with the utmost care. Right now I need to make sure that your father actually received the surgery needed after the crash and that if we _do_ take him off of life support that he’ll be able to make a full recovery. I need to find out for myself the condition he’s in before I can help him.”

Stiles glances over at his father before finally nodding at Peter and stepping aside, resting against Derek’s side. Derek’s arm goes around his shoulder and pulls him in closer and Stiles lets out a breath of nervous relief.

Peter pulls the covers back and begins checking his father over, checking each bandage and probing vital spots, somehow gather data Stiles has no idea about. Finally he pulls the covers back over his father, his face tight.

“At least they did _something_ right. Your father suffered internal injuries as well as some brain damage from both the accident and the heart attack. If he were awake right now he’d be in so much pain his body would probably just give out. However, he absolutely cannot stay here. He needs immediate medical care and frankly I do not trust this hospital to give him this care. I’ll call for one of my ambulances and they should be here within the next hour or two.”

Stiles’ breathing goes shallow as he stares at his father.

“That’s bad isn’t it? My father’s in really bad condition. I thought he was getting better. The monitor never wavered; his heartbeat always stayed the same. How could he not be getting better? Doesn’t the body heal itself?”

“You were in that crash too, weren’t you?” Peter asks instead of answering any of his questions and honestly Stiles is kind of grateful, he doesn’t know if he’d be able to handle the answers.

“Yeah. I’m already healed though, I’m completely fine.”

“Are you? Where were you hurt?”

Stiles pulls up his shirt to reveal a long, ugly scar down his side and curves in towards his stomach. The door had crumpled in and the glass had shattered into jagged pieces when they’d hit the trees and flipped several times.

“I also broke my right leg and arm, broke two ribs, fractured two other ribs, broke several fingers and toes, and split my head open pretty good right below my hairline behind my ear and on my neck. The other injuries were minor like needing a couple stitches on my back where glass had gotten me.”

“Did they do surgery on your side?”

Stiles shook his head. “It just needed to be closed up.”

“Do you still feel pain there or anywhere else?”

Stiles just shrugged. “Of course I do. It’s not exactly a quick recovery thing. It was an almost fatal crash.”

Peter nodded and turned to Laura.

“I’ll leave you to take care of these three fuckers. I’ll be outside making a few calls. Derek, take care of Stiles.”

“No shit.” Derek growled and pulled Stiles even tighter into his side.

Stiles clung to Derek, his arms wrapping around his waist and holding on tight. This was all so fucked up. The doctors he’d trusted since he was three had just scammed him out of thousands of dollars and hadn’t even helped his father. If anything they probably made it worse. Who knew how bad the damage was now since it hadn’t been treated when it needed to be.

“Laura.” Stiles sniffed and Laura turned to him from where she’d been writing something in her phone. “How did they do this? How weren’t they caught before this?”

“These three worked together. If you know the system well enough then it’ll only take a couple of people to pull something like this off multiple times. This one is in records, this one’s the receptionist, and this one is your doctor, the one behind the master plan. All you’d need is false information and legit verification to get everything you need. Depending on if they’ve done this before they could be facing a _very_ long prison sentence. If someone has _died_ because of something like this they could be getting _life_ in prison.”

The look of malicious glee in Laura’s eye at the mention of getting life in prison made a fierce sense of pride and hope well up in Stiles but also revenge. He wanted these fuckers to pay for what they’ve done. It was an exhilarating feeling.

“I hope they rot in Hell.” Stiles seethed and pressed his cheek against Derek’s shoulder.

Derek growled and gripped him tighter and Stiles felt so inexplicably safe.

 

 

********I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT GOES ON IN A HOSPITAL SO ALL OF THIS IS BULL!!*******


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate holidays. I hope yalls had a better holiday season than I did! Hurray for 2015! Relatives can go suck nuts. 
> 
> Sorry if this chapter seems a little...blah. It's hard to write while extremely disappointed and irritated at three in the morning.

The next few days were a blur for Stiles. First there was moving his father to Peter’s hospital over an hour away, then the lawsuit being filed against the three hospital staffs, and finally CPS being contacted since his father was incapable of providing for Stiles. Laura, being the awesome lawyer she is, managed to convince them that the Hale family (meaning Derek) would be able to take him in while they treated his father.

Stiles was going to meet Derek’s family.

“I’m sure your parents have better things to do than meet your new ‘roommate’. I mean, I don’t even have to stay at your place, I’m sure I’m a total nuisance when I’m there to clean, you shouldn’t have to deal with me twenty-four seven!” Stiles said on the sixth day after everything had gone down at the hospital.

They were on their way to the Hale house right on the edge of Beacon Hills in the Preserve and Stiles was so nervous he’d been unable to eat breakfast that morning and had spent the first ten minutes of the ride in silence, fidgeting restlessly with anything within reach. Derek had been particularly patient with him, listening to his senseless rambling when he’d finally been able to open his mouth and didn’t berate him for his obnoxious twitching.

“I’m sure. They’ve been dying to meet you since they found out about you from Laura.”

“That sounds even more terrifying. They’re going to hate me! How do you not hate me? I would hate me. I’m totally obnoxious and talk a lot and fidget and I have ADHD and I eat a lot…”

“Stiles.” Derek interrupted. “You’ll be fine. They’re going to love you.” Derek didn’t mention the bit about his own tolerance towards Stiles.

Stiles finally just gave up and slumped into the cushion, accepting that his nervousness wouldn’t go away until he met Derek’s family. He’d never met the family of someone he likes. He didn’t meet Lydia’s mom until she started substituting at his school and even then he still knows next to nothing about her other family members.

Huh. He hasn’t thought about Lydia since the crash. In fact, he hadn’t started thinking about anything but his work until he’d met Derek. Nothing had really mattered, just earning the money. Now that he didn’t have to _and_ he was getting all of his money back he had no idea what to do.

“I had to quit all of my jobs, including the housekeeping one, and now am getting all the money I’d been giving to the hospital back but I don’t think I’ll be able to pay for the treatment from your uncle’s hospital. Do you think I might be able to take you up on your offer still?” Derek gave him a confused side look before watching the road again. “I mean your offer to work for you exclusively instead of working all those other jobs.”

“Oh. I forgot about that.”

“Right, right. It’s totally ok, I completely understand if you don’t want me to work for you now that you know about…well, everything. I’m probably not the best person to employ and it would be a lot of money and…”

“Stiles, I didn’t say I wouldn’t employ you, I simply forgot about the offer in all the chaos. I’d gladly employ you but I don’t think I’ll need to. I’m going to be paying your father’s medical bills since I am now your legal guardian for the moment.”

“Well, technically your mom and sister are.”

“As if they’d take you from me.” Derek scoffed.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked, confused.

Derek’s face pulled into a frown and his mouth opened for a second before closing it again. “Uh, nothing. I didn’t mean anything. Just…thinking out loud.”

Stiles gives a short, quiet laugh. “Well, that’s a new one.”

Derek just nodded and seemed to laser focus on the road once more. Stiles let it go, the uncomfortable look on Derek’s face reminding him of his own discomfort. They were almost to the Hale house and he still wasn’t sure how to proceed. He’d never been a greeter, more of a jump right into lengthy, loud conversations. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do that with Derek’s family. Derek never really spoke about them; he was a much more guarded person than Stiles.

When the house came into sight Stiles’ heart kicked into high gear, his eyes darting around the property to get an idea of what to expect. The house was a huge white, two story mansion with many windows and a red door. The color threw him off for a second, not expecting the intense and different color but found himself oddly pleased by it.

Derek parked and turned off the car, turning to Stiles who stared back at him with wide eyes.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Just be yourself.”

“Yeah, I don’t know if that’s good advice when it comes to me. I am _way_ too obnoxious and loud and rude with no brain to mouth filter to speak of which can often offend people…” Stiles took several deep breaths. “Well, we’re here now, might as well just…do it.”

Derek laid a gentle, warm hand on Stiles’ forearm, stilling his movement for a brief moment. “Stiles, just be yourself. Your hyperactive, expressive self. You’ll be fine. Promise. Now come on, before you make _me_ nervous.” Derek grumbled and pulled open his door.

Stiles sat for a second longer, calming himself and replaying Derek’s words in his head, trying to psych himself up for this and finally pulled his door open.

The day was cold, September air blowing right through is thin clothes and raising his skin in prickles of cold. Derek waited for him in front of the car and they walked towards the porch together. The porch swing waved gently in the breeze and Stiles stared at it, looking at its well-loved cushion and took another deep breath before Derek knocked on the wood of the door.

Immediately the door was jerked wide open and sweet, warm air enveloped the both of them like a gentle, welcoming hug from the house. Standing in the doorway were several young children, all grinning up at the two of them with loving and curious smiles before one of the littler ones squealed and launched herself at Derek. Derek stooped down and caught her in his arms, scooping her up and into a tight hug, his face bright with smiles and love.

“Anna! You’ve grown!” Derek laughed, his deep voice sweeping over Stiles, relaxing him even though he had yet to step over the threshold.

“Uncle Derek! Uncle Derek! I lost a tooth!”

“I’ve grown two inches and a half of inches!”

“I got new shoes.”

The children were all screeching at once and Stiles smiled, laughing at the completely unexpected onslaught of cuteness. By the time they made it through the doorway Derek had three children climbing on him and Stiles was carrying the sweet little girl with the new shoes in his arms, shutting the door with his hip.

Derek led them into the house slowly, swinging the children to and fro from his arms with two more on his legs now. How he did that, Stiles had no clue. When they reached the living room a tall, blonde woman greeted Derek first, wrapping him in a tight hug before placing a kiss on his cheek and removing one of the munchkins. The two on his feet dashed off as soon as they realized Derek probably wasn’t going to move again which left them both carrying one child. When Derek turned to look at him Stiles’ breath left in a whoosh at the incredible power of Derek’s smile. Stiles almost forgot to smile back but thankfully his face quickly caught up.

“Stiles, this is my family. The one you’re holding is Isabelle, the two who ran off were Daniel and Tera. My uncle's wife, Dina, just took Joel, and this one,” he says, looking at the little girl bouncing in his arms, “is Anna. She’s the oldest out of all the children under ten.”

“Seven! I just turned seven.” She said matter-of-fact-ly, nodding her head sagely.

“Oh yes, I can definitely tell. You look grown up already.” Stiles said back just as seriously.

Anna nodded twice before breaking out into a big smile and turning back to Derek. “Uncle Derek! Grandma said you had big news!”

Derek looked surprised for all of a second before he smiled softly. “I don’t think I’d call it _big_ news but it’s definitely news. Do you know where Grandma is?”

“She’s with Grandpa in the kitchen.”

“Thanks sweet pea. How about you go help your mommy set the table for lunch?”

“Yes sir!”

Derek let her go and she squealed as she ran off, calling for her mother as she went. Isabelle was resting her head on Stiles’ shoulder. She was the mellowest of all the children and looked on the verge of falling asleep. Stiles was gently swaying from side to side, lulling the young toddler slowly to sleep.

“You can put her down if you want. It’s probably her nap time.”

Stiles shook his head. “Nah I’m good. She’s adorable and warm.”

Derek gave him a small half-smirk and nodded. “Alright. My mom and dad are in the kitchen. Probably making lunch for everyone. Peter and Laura will be here shortly as well as my other sister Cora and brother Nicholas.”

“Ok.” Stiles said, his nerves picking up again.

Derek gently put a hand on his free arm and smiled calmly. “It’s ok. If the little ones love you then the rest of my family will undoubtedly love you. Come on.”

Stiles nodded quickly and swallowed, rubbing Isabelle on the back to soothe both her and his nerves and followed Derek through the living room and around a corner to the kitchen. Around the corner was a bright, beautiful kitchen filled with sunlight and scents of delicious food. A tall woman who looked so much like Derek that it startled Stiles was currently putting together sandwiches at the center island while a tall man washed dishes at the sink behind her. The woman looked up when the two of them walked in and gave each of them a dazzling smile.

“Derek! It’s so wonderful to see you! It’s so rare to see you accompanied by someone. Who have you brought with you?” she asked politely, smiling sweetly at Stiles.

“As if you have to ask. This is Stiles. I’m going to be looking after him until his father is well again.”

“If he gets well again.” Stiles said quietly with a small smile towards Mrs. Hale. “It’s wonderful to meet you ma’am. I’m Stiles Stilinski. Thank you for having me over.”

Mrs. Hale smiled and waved away his politeness with a huff. “Oh please, call me Talia. Everyone here simply calls me Mom but until you get comfortable you can just call me Talia. I feel so old if you call me ma’am or Mrs. Hale.”

Derek just rolled his eyes and walked around the island to give his mom a peck on the cheek, patting his dad on the back on his way to grab a handful of pretzels from the open bag on the counter. Mr. Hale turned with a smile, dishtowel in hand, to look at Stiles.

“You can call me whatever you’d like Stiles. My name’s David, nice to meet you Stiles.”

Stiles rocked Isabelle back and forth to keep from spastically fidgeting under the gaze of both intimidating Hale parents. Though, he didn’t actually feel uncomfortable, just…overwhelmed.

“It’s nice to meet you too…David. Talia.” Stiles said politely. “Your house is so incredibly lovely and your family is so,” Stiles bounced Isabelle, now asleep in his arms, “wonderful. I feel very welcomed.” He laughed lightly.

Talia gave him a gentle look. “Thank you Stiles. I’m glad. Though, Isabelle doesn’t usually fall asleep in anybody else’s arms but her mother’s. You can put her down on the couch if you’d like.”

Stiles shook his head, smoothing the back of Isabelle’s pink sundress. “It’s alright. She’s adorable and her presence is actually soothing really.” He explained with a sheepish grin. “I’ve always loved children. When I used to visit my best friend’s mom at the hospital I’d always play with and watch the children there. They could always keep up with my restless energy.”

“You’ll love these kids then. They seem to never run out of energy.” David laughed and Stiles smiled, finally relaxing fully.

Derek made a full circle of the kitchen and found himself back at Stiles’ side, a gentle hand pressed to his shoulder blade as he turned to address his parent.

“I just wanted to introduce him and fill you both in on what’s going to be happening over the next few months. I’m sure Laura and Peter have already told you most of the details but I wanted you to meet him.”

“Good thing you did too. I’d have stormed your house if you hadn’t introduced him!” Talia threatened, pointing a spoon she’d been using to toss a fruit salad. “Are you two going to stay for lunch? There’s plenty of food. Tim and Amelia will be home in about twenty minutes if you’d like to meet them too.”

Stiles looked over at Derek who looked back with question. Stiles just shrugged, not saying yes or no since it was Derek’s family, but his stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, making all three Hales laugh.

“I guess that settles it! The two of you will stay for lunch and Stiles can meet the others.” David stated.

“Sounds good to me. I don’t have any plans except to unpack what little I brought with me.”

Derek nodded in agreement and nudged Stiles forward towards the table where placemats were already set for fifteen.

“This table is huge.” Stiles commented as he continued to rock Isabelle.

“One for every family member. My brother’s wife is expecting another one so there’s fifteen seats. That means you luckily have a seat.” Derek explained.

“Jeez. How on earth do you have so many family members?” Stiles muttered and took a seat at the end of the table where Derek pulled out a seat for him.

“Well, I have three siblings, two older and one younger. Timothy is the eldest, married to Amelia who has Isabelle and Tera with one on the way. Then there’s Laura who is the second eldest who is recently engaged. Cora is my younger sister who better not have a boyfriend.”

“None of your business!” a female’s voice called from another room.

“It’s always my business.” Derek said in his normal voice so that he wouldn’t wake Isabelle which was responded to with a loud snort. “Anyway, my uncle, Peter, is married to Dina who has Joel and Daniel though they’re thinking about having another one as well.”

Stiles’ eyebrows had been steadily inching up through the whole family detailing until they nearly reached his hairline.

“Wow. That’s a _lot_ of people. I guess you’ll be adding more chairs after Laura gets married, huh?” Stiles laughed softly. “I only have my dad and even then we almost never eat together. His hours at the station would always have him leaving before I wake up and not back until after I go to sleep so between my school and his work we never really saw each other.”

A hand fell heavily onto his shoulder and he looked up into David’s warm, green eyes. “Well, for now you can dine with us anytime.” He glanced at Derek. “That is, whenever _Derek_ decides to drop by. We barely see that boy.”

Stiles looks over to see Derek grimacing but there’s a fondness in his glare at his father. It makes Stiles yearn for his own father but he keeps that to himself and instead nods.

“I’ll do what I can.” He promises.

“Good, good. I’ll help Talia set the table and then we can start calling everyone in for lunch.”

“Sounds good.” Talia approved and the both of them went back to their food preparations.

Stiles turned to Derek who sat on his left and gave him a soft smile. “Your family is awesome. You’re so lucky to have so many of them.”

Derek’s gaze softened. “Yeah, I am.” He agreed quietly almost sadly.

They sat in silence, listening to Isabelle’s calm breathing and the various noises from the kitchen. Stiles felt that if he were left like this long enough he’d most likely fall asleep as well but luckily it was only another ten minutes before food was placed on the table in huge piles, plates arranged on the mats along with heaps of napkins. There were all sorts of foods from a delicious smelling roast chicken to ham and turkey sandwiches. Bags of chips and trays of veggies and fruits were placed strategically between main dishes and Stiles felt his mouth begin to water as the smells of the foods overwhelmed his senses.

“This looks amazing.” Stiles groaned.

“It’ll taste even better, I swear.” Talia laughed.

Isabelle stirred in his arms, rubbing at her eyes as she yawned widely against Stiles’ shoulder.

“Hey girly, ready for lunch?” Stiles cooed, smoothing her hair away from her face.

She nodded and turned to look at the table full of food.

“Hungry.” She mumbled, voice still quiet with sleep.

“Good. There’s a lot of yummy foods to be eaten!”

Stiles turned Isabelle around so she sat on his lap facing the table. Derek looked at them fondly before standing.

“I’ll go call the others for lunch. You can start eating, we’ll be a minute.” Derek said as he beckoned his mother and father towards the living room.

Stiles watched them go with uncertainty but then Isabelle wriggled on his lap and reached for the food only two feet from her.

“What would you like to eat sweetheart?”

“Ham. Pickle.”

“Right away my lady.” Stiles chuckled and reached forward to one of the plates of sandwiches that were luckily close enough to reach to grab. Unfortunately the pickles were on another plate halfway across the table. “How about you start eating your sandwich and I’ll grab your pickle?” Stiles offered.

Isabelle nodded and quickly chomped into her sandwich. Stiles grabbed a roast beef sandwich for himself but simply set it on his plate, waiting for the others to get there before he dove into the food that was making his stomach rumble. Thankfully he only had to wait for a minute or so for children to come running into the room, hopping up on the chairs to reach the food and dig in before being followed by the adults.

Several people were new faces but one by one they introduced themselves before taking seats next to the children, Derek sitting back into the seat on his left. Talia sat at the head of the table with David at her right and Peter at her left and everything sat still for a second, food piled high on everyone’s plates. Even Isabelle paused in her eating for a few seconds until Talia took a bite of her food and then everyone dug in. Stiles was more than a little curious at that but shrugged it off as one of those things different families did.

Derek paid more attention to Stiles than his family but Stiles was ok with that, thankful that he had something to talk about instead of eating in awkward silence with a bunch of strangers. Isabelle eventually got her pickle when Derek handed her one without being asked and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

“Does she always ask for pickles?” he laughed. “You seem to know exactly what she wants.”

Derek froze for a split second before shrugging. “She’s been staring at them this whole time. I figured that’s what she’d want.”

Stiles nodded and continued eating. He didn’t realize that everything had paused at the table for those couple of seconds, only resuming after he took another bite.

Once the meal was over, the children ran off, Isabelle included, and the parents followed, leaving the four of them alone once more. Stiles stood as Talia and David began cleaning off the table and Derek followed.

“Would you like some help cleaning up?” Stiles offered.

“Oh no dear, thank you for the offer. We’ve got it. I’m sure Derek’s dying to get out of here already and you have your things to unpack.”

Stiles looked from Talia to Derek who nodded.

“That sounds good. Thanks for the food mom. I’ll see you both later.” Derek said, quickly kissing his mom on the cheek and hugging his dad.

“Come over soon. Thanks for coming!” Talia called as Derek began herding Stiles back towards the door.

“Thank you for having me! I look forward to next time! The food was delicious and it was fun meeting everyone!” he called back.

Once they were both back in the car they let out identical sighs of relief.

“You weren’t as talkative today.”

Stiles shrugged. “It was a different atmosphere than I’m used to. I talked to you a lot. And Isabelle.”

“I don’t think a three year old counts.”

“They so do count! We had quite a conversation about turtles.”

“That’s the only animal she knows besides a wolf.” Derek commented as he started up the car and began turning the car around.

“Exactly! And now she probably knows more about turtles than she’ll ever need to know.”

“ _I_ know more about turtles than I’ll ever need to know. How in the world do you know so much about them?”

“I get bored easily. Turtles are just one of the many animals I’ve researched in my boredom. I also know a lot about the platypus, squirrels, dolphins, orangutans, and rhinos. I’ll need to do more research on wolves though if Isabelle and I will be having anymore in depth conversations.”

Derek snorted. “I’m sure she could teach you a thing or two about wolves.” He muttered.

Stiles gave him an odd look but shrugged. “You’re family’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while as they both sifted through thoughts about today before Stiles broke it with a sigh.

“I’ve never had a large family like that. How come you don’t visit them very often? You don’t even really talk about them. They’re so cool.”

Derek was silent for a beat. “I don’t have anyone to talk to about them. You’re the first person besides my editor that has ever met them and that was only for a couple minutes before I shoved them out with my manuscript.”

“Oh right. You’ve got that whole antisocial thing going on for you.” Stiles chuckled, gesturing at Derek.

Derek just shook his head with a small smile on his lips. Stiles was satisfied with just looking at Derek for the rest of the ride to Derek’s place before getting nervous again as he realized…he was going to be living alone with Derek for the next few months. Derek who he was incredibly attracted to. Derek who _might_ like him back.

His whole body flushed at the thought and he quickly jumped out of the car as soon as it rolled to a stop in front of Derek’s house. This was either going to be an incredibly awkward stay or frustrating stay. He was totally looking forward to it as much as he was dreading it. What fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fixed the typo that said 'step-sister Dina' to 'uncle's wife, Dina,' that was caught by a reader. Thank you so much!


	16. Chapter 16

Derek was nervous. So nervous. Taking Stiles to his parent’s house had been on a whim, and even though it had gone really, really well he was now going to take Stiles to _his_ house. To _stay_. Holy Hell, he was in _way_ over his head. Being close to Stiles was already difficult but trying to control his wolf was nearly impossible after he became aware of just how deep his feelings ran for the boy.

Stiles was bobbing his head and singing along with the song softly playing on the radio but out of the corner of his eye he saw the boy glance at him every so often. It was nerve wracking knowing he was watching him but also kind of nice knowing he had his attention. He just didn’t know what to do with that attention. Should he bring the glances up? Maybe he should bring up the whole situation. He didn’t want to upset Stiles though by mentioning his dad or his change in situation or mention the suspicion of feelings if there weren’t any.

Derek sighed. He was getting ahead of himself. As soon as they got home he’d take a couple hours alone and figure out a plan for how things were to progress. He couldn’t think when he was surrounded by Stiles’ scent like this, could feel the heat emanating from the boy only a foot away from him. Definitely needed to come up with a plan, boundaries to give himself so he didn’t accidentally push the boy into something he was _not_ ready for.

Sixteen. _Sixteen!_ Derek reminded himself and took a steadying breath. Sure age didn’t matter to werewolves but Stiles wasn’t a werewolf and Derek had to treat him differently than he would a werewolf. Stiles was…delicate. So very breakable. And Derek didn’t want to become a Kate.

The thought was sharp, pulling him from his head and back into his body, glaring at the road once more and pressing the gas a little harder. He had to clear his head and the sooner they got home the sooner they could do that.

Stiles had stopped singing and was instead staring blatantly at him but Derek paid him no mind, biting his cheek and gripping the wheel harder to keep himself from looking over at the boy and losing himself again. The rest of the ride was a little tense, Stiles smelling of confusion and apprehension at the sudden shift in Derek’s mood. There was a nervous undertone to his scent that was left over from his parent’s house and even though he wanted to reassure Stiles that it wasn’t his fault he just couldn’t look at him at the moment.

When they pulled up to his house next to Stiles’ Jeep he immediately turned off the car and jumped out growling, “Sort your stuff and leave me in peace for a few hours.”

Stiles’ heartbeat stuttered before picking up quicker than before. “Uh, ok. Sure.”

Derek didn’t wait around to hear anything else, unlocking his front door and storming inside, leaving the door open for him. Derek stormed to his room and shut and locked his door to ensure his privacy before taking a deep, angry breath. He stood by his door before beginning to pace, his mind going a mile a minute.

First he’d have to lay down rules for Stiles. First of all he’d need to start up school again so that would help Derek distance himself from Stiles a bit. Next he’d need a proper bedtime and after school schedule.

Derek grimaced when he realized that now that Stiles was going to be living there he couldn’t simply go grab a bite to eat whenever he wanted since he’d have to be home for the boy. It also wasn’t healthy for a growing boy to eat out all the time so he’d probably need to learn how to cook and clean up after himself properly. His family was most likely going to be coming over more often now as well.

Derek groaned and flopped down onto his bed, covering his face with his hands at the overwhelmed feeling rushing through him. If he was going to be taking care of this poor boy he’d have to completely shove aside all feelings he has for him and try to act more like a guardian than a friend or anything…else.

Quickly he jerked his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Laura’s contact, texting her rapidly.

_This wasn’t a good idea._

The reply was instantaneous.

_What are you talking about? This was a great idea! Now you two don’t have to pine after each other from afar._

_That’s exactly what I mean! I just…_ can’t _. He doesn’t deserve someone like me. For one I’m a werewolf; two, I’m at least eight years older than he is, he’s just a boy! I have to make sure that he’s taken care of and with the feelings I have that wouldn’t work._

 _Derek, don’t do anything rash. The kid’s obviously totally taken by you, you just have to open yourself up to him! Talk to him, get to know him, let him know_ you _! The werewolf thing wouldn’t even be a problem, you can just tell him. He’s a smart boy. A_ strong _, smart boy._

 _I just…can’t Laura. It’s not right. I can’t put that on him. It’s only for a couple months. I can hold out for that long. He needs to have his own life, his own romances. He’ll forget about me eventually and lead a_ normal _life._

_Listen, if that’s what you want to do I can’t stop you. But let me tell you right now; you’re making a huge mistake. If you let that boy go you’ll regret it for the rest of your life._

_At least he’ll be safe._

Derek tucked his phone back into his pocket, feeling his resolve solidify and finally stood up again. He went over and sat in his computer chair, booting his computer up before pulling up a new document.

_ Rules _ _:_

1: Keep at least two feet away at all times

2: Stiles goes to school

3: Curfew is 10 pm

4: _No_ flirting

5: Keep updated on Mr. Stilinski’s condition

Derek sat back, looking at his measly list of rules he set for himself. It already felt restricting but if he was going to make it through this time period without hurting Stiles then he’d have to abide by these five simple rules.

Satisfied that he now had at least a semblance of a plan he saved the document to his desktop so that he’d always see it when he looked at his screen to remind himself and went to unlock his door.

Stiles was rustling with his meager luggage in the other room, making small huffing noises. Derek quickly ran upstairs and grabbed the whiteboard that they’d found in one of the rooms while cleaning and the eraser and markers that came attached and hauled them downstairs. From a drawer in the kitchen he grabbed a hammer and a nail and quickly hammered it into the blank wall next to the kitchen. Stiles peeked out of his room at the noise.

“What’s that for?”

“Writing on.” Derek huffed.

“Oh haha mister funny man. What are you going to put on it that’s important enough to impale your wall so violently?”

Derek didn’t answer in favor of hanging up the three by two feet board on the nail. It hung a little away from the wall because of the nail but it was sturdy. He uncapped the black marker and quickly wrote _Rules :_ at the top.

“Rules? Really?”

“Yes really.” Derek said sternly before Stiles could say anything else and quickly wrote down three quick sentences.

1: School comes first

2: Curfew 10:00 pm

3: Respect the rules

“That third rule is totally unnecessary!”

“The rules are to be followed at all times, no questions asked. I’m your guardian until your father gets better and the way you’re living right now is unacceptable for a growing boy. You are going to go to school, do your homework, do extracurricular activities, eat proper meals, and clean up after yourself properly.”

Stiles just crosses his arms, leaning against the door frame to his room, eyebrows raised as he stares at Derek.

“For one we don’t even know if my dad _is_ going to get better. For another my curfew was 11:30 pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends. The school year has already started and I’ll be way behind in everything so even if I do go I’ll just fail anyways. I’m absolutely terrible at all extracurricular activities, what with my ADHD and coordination issues and pretty much _everything_ else about me.”

Derek held up a hand and Stiles stopped his rant.

“Look, all I want is for this stay to go as smoothly and peacefully as possible.” Sour notes of hurt damper Stiles’ scent, his stance stiffening. “Your father is absolutely going to get better under my uncle’s care and when he does he’ll be able to come back to his healthy son. Then you two can go back to your normal lives.”

“What normal lives? He doesn’t have a job and if I’m in school I can’t support him. We’re going to be so far in debt we’ll drown in it. I don’t want my father coming home to something like that. I have to make this better Derek.” Stiles uncrossed his arms, leaning forward a little as he became more intense. “You don’t get it, I almost _killed_ him. This is _my_ fault and _I_ have to make it better. As much as I can anyway. I can’t just go back to school like nothing happened. I have to support my father and pay for everything that has happened and will happen. I need to get a job _again_ since I’ve been fired from all my other ones.” Stiles clenched his fists, his chest heaving. “You wouldn’t understand. You have all your money and a warm family to support you but my father and I have _nothing_. We have no one to look to for help. I cost my father his job and almost his life and I just…” Stiles broke off, biting at his lip harshly.

Derek stood there uncomfortably, hating the bitter scent of hurt and sorrow coming off Stiles, his wolf crying to get closer but he had to stand firm. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to put at least some semblance of a barrier between the two of them.

“You’re wrong. I do understand.” Derek said quietly and Stiles looked up at him with furious eyes.

“No you don’t! You have _everything_!” Stiles yelled, pushing himself forward.

Derek quickly stepped backwards so there was still space between the two of them and Stiles froze, looking horrified. He shook his head harshly and turned around, darting back into his room and slamming the door, leaving Derek standing there on the kitchen tiles feeling tauter than an overstressed rubber band, waiting for the snap back. But it didn’t come.

There was no way to salvage this conversation and Derek didn’t try, figuring that since Stiles was upset with him it’ll help with the whole ‘staying apart’ part of the plan even if it did suck.

Neither of them spoke to each other the rest of the night. They ate at different times, Stiles making a quick sandwich for dinner that couldn’t have been enough but Derek didn’t say anything. Instead he spent the evening contacting the Beacon Hills High School to figure out how to enroll Stiles into this year. He’d never done anything like this but with the help of one of the administration he was able to get Stiles registered for classes with a schedule ready for him for next week.

The school still had Stiles’ information from the previous year that he hadn’t finished and was put into extra classes but still bumping him into the proper year for his age group since he was actually incredibly smart. Derek was a little surprised to find out that Stiles had actually been one of the top five students in his year before he’d dropped out of high school. Third in his class actually. It made Derek’s wolf swell with pride at the prospect of a smart mate but Derek quickly stamped out any and all thoughts of _anything_ to do with mates and simply printed the schedule along with the list of books needed for the year and shut down his computer.

The next morning was tense but Derek needed to talk to Stiles so as soon as he heard the boy get up he too got up and dressed, joining him for breakfast.

“I got your schedule and books for your classes. You were allowed to join in your age group as a sophomore instead of as a freshman and have been given two extra classes to help make up for lost time. Your lunch account has been set up for the year as well with enough money to get both a snack and lunch every day. I’ll give you an allowance to take care of gas and any other school supplies you’ll need.” Derek explained to him as Stiles ate his Wheaties.

“This fucking sucks. Did nothing I said get through to you yesterday?”

“I said I understood.” Derek growled. “You need to finish high school to get a proper job to support your father and you can’t do that if you stick with shitty jobs instead of actually attending school. You’ll be going to school starting Monday even if I have to drag you kicking and screaming there myself.”

Stiles gave his own human growl back, glaring hard at Derek before slamming his chair backwards and dumping the rest of his milk down the sink and putting his dishes into the dishwasher, slamming that closed as well. Derek clenched his jaw when Stiles slammed the door to his room and immediately stalked off to his room, growling low and dangerous in his chest. He wanted to punch something _hard_ but with Stiles here he couldn’t. So instead he took to digging his claws into his palms and stalking back and forth furiously, trying to quietly calm himself down.

After about fifteen long minutes of angry pacing and howling in his head he finally felt calm enough to unclench his hands and let his palms heal, collapsing into his computer chair. He didn’t know if he could do this. Stiles was a hormonal teenager that his wolf was ridiculously attracted to and he hadn’t dealt with anyone like this in years. He was so over his head.

His phone rang on his desk, startling him. Glancing at the screen he quickly jabbed the answer button and pressed it to his ear.

“Hello?”

 _“Whoa, what crawled up in you and died? What the hell is wrong with you sunshine?”_ his sister growled.

“Stiles is upset that I enrolled him in school instead of letting him work. He’s…moody.”

_“Well duh, he’s a teenager. You were moody when you were a teenager. Just let him blow off some steam.”_

“I can’t even talk to him Laura! This was a horrible idea! It’d be better if you’d have taken him in instead. I can’t handle this!” Derek lowered his voice until he was barely whispering into the receiver, “My wolf is going nuts. I can barely keep myself human when I talk to him when he’s this…emotional.”

 _“We both knew this was going to be difficult Derek but you’re making this a thousand times worse for yourself. If you keep doing this to yourself and to him then things will continue to go to shit. You_ need _to let him in Derek.”_

Derek growled low and menacing into the phone. “Why did you call?”

_“I talked to mom last night about the whole Stiles thing and she thinks you should bring Stiles over to the house at least twice a week. She wants to get to know him better. You know what that means.”_

“No. Absolutely not!” Derek gnashed between sharp teeth. “You can _not_ tell him!”

 _“That’s for your_ Alpha _to decide Derek, not you! Mom likes him a lot and with his father being previously employed in the law enforcement she thinks he’d make a good addition to the pack. He can stay human but she wants to get to know him.”_

Derek made a dark noise deep in his chest but kept his mouth closed. He wanted to roar, to howl at them for putting him in this situation. “Laura. _Please_. I can’t do this.” He finally said, voice low and desperate, feeling slightly breathless.

 _“Derek calm down right now.”_ Laura snapped and Derek immediately straightened up. _“You are making this a way bigger deal than it has to be. You will obey your mother and your Alpha. Stiles is a good kid, Derek, and if you’d open your bloody fucking eyes you’d see it too!”_

“I _know_ he’s a good kid! That’s why I don’t want him involved! We can’t ruin his life like this!”

 _“Oh yeah, ruin it as opposed to what? If you haven’t noticed his father is in a coma in a hospital with no signs of waking up. Even if he does wake up he’s going to be seriously fucked for a long time. Stiles’ life is going to suck anyways. Actually, this way he’ll at least he’ll have our support through all of this._ You _might even benefit from all of this.”_

Derek sighed at her sound logic. She was right of course but that didn’t mean that he had to like it.

_“It’ll be mom’s and Stiles’ decision on this, alright? If she accepts Stiles’ she’ll find a gentle way of telling him, you know she always does. You remember when she told Emmet? He took it like a champ. If Stiles is half the man he seems to be then he’ll handle it even better, you just have to believe in him.”_

“Ok, ok. I’ll listen to mom but if I think it’s too much for Stiles’ I’m going to pull him away from all this.”

_“Just trust mom. She’s the best Alpha and the best mother. She always knows what to do.”_

“Ok. Stiles starts school on Monday so I’ll bring him over starting the week after so that he has time to get used to the pace of things before he’s wrenched into this twisted plot.”

Laura laughed, the sound soft on Derek’s ears. _“Oh please Der-bear. You make us all sound so sinister.”_

“You kind of are.” He growled but he was pretty much completely calm now, his sister had that unique ability on him.

_“I love you. I’ll let mom know the plan. I’m sure she’ll call you later to make solid plans.”_

“Alright. I’ll still try to convince her otherwise but if this all goes the way that she wants it it’ll still be up to Stiles if he wants to become involved with us or not. It’s a risky life.”

_“But it’s a better one than what he’d be left with. Just think about it Der-bear. I love you.”_

“I love you too. Talk to you later.”

Derek sighed deeply when they finally hung up, leaning heavily against the armrest of his chair and rubbing the stress from his eyes. A small thump drew his attention to his door and he cursed, shooting to the door and wrenching it open. Stiles stumbled three feet backwards onto his butt with a terrified and surprised look on his face at the furious look Derek gave him.

“What the hell are you doing?!” he yelled.

Stiles stood up, face going flat, blank. Derek felt taken aback by the expression but didn’t let it show.

“I heard you yelling and came to apologize but…” Stiles paused and gave Derek a small, sad frown. “I’m going to go pack my bag. It was a terrible idea coming here.”

Derek finally jerked back, face smoothing into a mask of confusion and surprise. “What?”

Stiles shook his head, heading for his room. “You made it very clear that you don’t want me here. There’s no way in hell I’m going to stay here if I’m _that_ unwanted. I’ll go to school but I’ll stay at my house. It’s closer anyways.”

Derek was across the room in half a second, grasping Stiles’ arm before he could make it all the way into his room. Stiles gasped in surprise but jerked at his grip.

“Damnit Stiles!” Derek cursed violently. “You weren’t meant to hear _any_ of that! You completely misread all of that information!”

Stiles glared at him, baring his teeth in anger as he shoved at Derek. “As if! I could hear everything! You regret taking me in; you don’t want me here at _all_!” His voice cracked on the last word and he clenched his teeth tightly together. “Let go.” He hissed.

Derek pulled him in close, his face inches from Stiles’. “No.” he growled. “You completely misunderstood.”

Stiles wrenched his face back, jerking his head to the side to hide the angry tears gathering in his eyes. “I understood pretty fucking well you asshole. Let. Me. Go.”

Derek tightened his grip and pushed him into his room and against the wall beside the door. “Just fucking listen. I’ve never done this before. I don’t take care of people very well.”

“You think?” Stiles hissed, struggling against Derek’s grip still.

Derek pressed him harder into the wall, both hands pinning Stiles’ wrists to the wall.

“Listen!” he yelled, inches from Stiles’ face once more. “I want to take care of you but I don’t know how. I was expressing my insecurities to my sister since she seems to be a fucking natural at it. It would’ve been better for you to go with her but…” Derek bit off the rest of that sentence, breathing harshly and trying to calm down.

There was a pause as they both breathed heavily, chests pressed together. Derek’s mind was muddled, going a mile a minute and none of it made any sense. He had been so close to spilling and he had to reel himself back in.

“But what?” Stiles asked quietly, still angry but curious as well.

“I’m… You…” Derek growled in frustration. “I…”

Stiles surged forward, mouth slamming into Derek’s furiously. Their teeth clacked together on impact before Stiles’ lips covered Derek’s, absolutely no finesse in the movements.

Derek’s wire-thin control snapped.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter totally sucks. I had no idea what to write for this one but I needed some movement to keep the story flowing in the right direction. I hope it doesn't suck Too bad.

Derek pushed his entire body into Stiles’ until Stiles was completely pressed into the wall. Stiles made a short whimper in the back of his throat but kissed back with a ferocity that seemed to surprise and please Derek. His legs clutched at Derek’s since it was the only part of him that he could sort of move and a growl bubbled through Derek’s chest.

Stiles whimpered at the hard press of Derek’s firm body against his own and Derek swallowed down the sound greedily. A harsh bite against Stiles’ bottom lip made him cry out, biting back in retaliation. There was nothing sweet about this kiss. It was all teeth and furious battling between lips. When Derek pressed harder against him, his thigh pressing between Stiles’ slightly spread ones Stiles moaned loudly into Derek’s mouth.

Sudden cold engulfed Stiles’ front and he was left clutching at the wall, sliding down it on wobbly knees and using it as his only support that barely kept him standing. It took several long minutes of gasping to realize just what had happened. Stiles’ eyes finally focused after several large intakes of air on Derek who was pressed against the opposite wall.

“That was fucking amazing you fucker.” Stiles bit out, his lips tingling and his teeth buzzing.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Derek snarled, glaring at him with furious eyes that seemed to look blue in the odd lighting.

“I should have done that a long time ago. It was fucking awesome and you’re a fucking shit for pulling away.” Stiles spat and stood back up. “You sure you still want to keep me?”

Derek stood up tall away from the wall with pure fury in his eyes as he walked towards Stiles. Stiles felt a spark of fear but anger and arousal quickly drowned it out.

“Yes.”

The word was growled into Stiles’ ear before Derek’s hulking frame disappeared out of his room. Stiles slammed the door shut behind him and collapsed onto the ground, hands furiously working at his pants, pulling open the button and unzipping the zipper. His throbbing cock jumped from his pants and Stiles moaned harshly when he finally got a hot palm around himself.

Stiles’ mouth still tingled and he pressed his fingers to his lips and touching the kiss bruised skin. He could feel the beginning sting of stubble burn around his mouth. Stiles stripped his cock hard and fast with a dry fist, just shy of painful. The energy from the kiss and his anger sizzled underneath his skin and Stiles writhed as his stomach started to tighten. This was going to be embarrassingly fast but he could still feel the ghost of Derek’s hard body where it’d been pressed against him and taste his unique flavor still on his tongue.

Stiles swiped his thumb firmly across the weeping head of his cock and clenched up hard as his orgasm slammed into him. The cry he gave was much louder than he intended but the intensity of his orgasm had him seeing bursts of light behind his eyelids. Cum drenched his fingers and soaked the edges of his underwear and shirt where it was rucked halfway up his stomach.

The post orgasmic bliss finally soothed the ache of anger and Stiles just lay there, soaking in the pleasure until the cum on his skin started getting tacky. Sighing he finally righted himself and let his soft dick slide free of his fingers. He was probably going to regret being so rough with himself later but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. His lips were pleasantly sore as were his wrists where Derek’s grip had tightened to the point of pain. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was going to press on those bruises later that night and cum just as hard at the memory of it all once again.

Once Stiles had cleaned himself up and changed into clean clothes he felt a lot better, the stress relieved for the moment. He sat on his bed and lifted his crumpled schedule to look at the classes and times he’d be taking on Monday.

** Schedule ** **:**

_1) U.S. History – Westover - 7:30-8:10_

_2) AP Literature – Blake - 8:13-9:00_

_Break – 9:00-9:15_

_3) Algebra II – Stowe - 9:18-10:30_

_4) Chemistry – Harris - 10:33-11:30_

_Lunch – 11:30-12:00_

_5) Phys. Ed. – Ham - 12:03-12:57_

_6) Health/Home Ec. – Osland - 1:00-2:02_

_7) French – Morrell - 2:05-3:00_

** Extra Classes ** **:**

_1) Trigonometry – Stowe - 3:10-4:00_

_2) English II – Blake - 4:03-4:45_

Holy hell that was a lot of classes. Stiles sighed, feeling the stress already weighing him down three days prior to the actual school day. He was going to have to take all these classes for the rest of the year to make up for the finals he’d missed freshman year and the three months he’s missed sophomore year already.

When he’d crashed he’d only given himself three months to fully recover, working from home on his computer until he was well enough to walk around. His side often hurt him but that was about it. Going to school wouldn’t be harder than working as much as he had been, he was sure of that. The psychological damage school could do though, that’s what he was afraid of.

Sighing, Stiles shoved his schedule into his bag he’d packed all his clothes in and flopped onto the bed. He needed to make a list of supplies he’d need since he’d sold almost everything he owned. He’d brought over one box and one bag of things that had been all that was left in his room. Tomorrow he’d go out shopping with the money he’d gotten from his last paychecks after he’d quit.

 

Pencils, notebooks, highlighters, pens, backpack… Stiles didn’t realize how much stuff he’d gotten rid of that he needed for school. He’d gone out this morning without talking to Derek, passing him on his way out the door as Derek came out of his room. It was painfully awkward. Now he stood in the checkout line of the local superstore that he’d had to quit last week. Yeah, today was just going to be an awkward and most likely embarrassing day.

“Stiles.”

“Boyd. Still working at the ice rink?”

“I am.”

Stiles stood there rocking back and forth on his feet as Boyd scanned each item. He’d always been a quiet one and right now Stiles was immensely grateful of that, not wanting him to pry into his business about why he quit or why he wasn’t in school since they were in the same grade.

“Thanks.” Stiles smiled as he paid and grabbed his items, fleeing the store.

Once in his Jeep he took several calming breaths. If just going to the store was this much pain then going to school was going to be hell. Being surrounded by people, having to deal with the questions and the looks and the judgmental remarks. It sent his heart skittering into his throat and he had to physically stop himself, put his hands on the wheel, and take long, deep breaths to calm the panic inside him.

By the time he finally parked in Derek’s driveway his heart was calm and the panic had subsided. The Camaro was absent from the gravel and Stiles heaved a sigh of relief even if he felt a tiny bit of disappointment inside. It was almost noon by the time he finished putting his backpack together and he was starving, having skipped breakfast in his haste to leave. He was walking out of his room when the front door opened and Derek walked in with two large, brown bags.

They both froze, staring at each other with hesitation. Stiles was surprised to see the intense look of shock and almost fear on his face before it smoothed back into its usual stoic mask of indifference.

“Hey, uh, sorry for rushing out like that.” Stiles finally said after they’d stood there for several awkward moments.

Derek finally moved, shaking his head and starting towards the kitchen. Stiles followed, stomach growling loudly. Derek set the bags onto the table and started pulling paper wrapped food out of them. Stiles groaned and sat at the table.

“You are so amazing. Foooooood.” He groaned loudly.

Derek pushed a large amount of food towards Stiles and sat opposite him, pulling an equal amount of food towards himself.

“You even got curly fries?!” Stiles squealed, pouncing on the food. “Dude, I love you so much right now.”

Derek froze across the table, halfway through unwrapping a burger but Stiles consciously made the decision to completely ignore how incredibly terrible that sentence just was and how damning it could be and instead focused on the food. Derek eventually finished unwrapping his burger and went about eating food at a normal pace while Stiles just shoveled it all in. Somehow Derek still finished eating before he did.

“Dude, how the hell do you do that? You had the same amount as I did and I eat like a lunatic yet you finished before I did. That is a serious skill you have there. Ever thought about entering an eating contest? That’d be so awesome.” Stiles snorted. “That’d be a sight. You eating at a normal pace next to the others porking it down and you _still_ finish before them.” Stiles laughed and finished his last bit of his fries.

Derek just shrugged and startled crumpling up all the trash on the table and stuffed it into one of the large paper bags. Stiles started to do the same while slurping on his soda he’d grabbed from the fridge.

“You know, you haven’t said anything to me all day. I mean, well, the morning part wasn’t your fault but all throughout lunch you didn’t say a word. Are you still mad at me?” Stiles asked cautiously.

Derek threw his last bit of trash away before turning to Stiles.

“I’m not mad.”

Stiles stopped gathering trash and sat, frozen, ready for him to continue but Derek didn’t say anything else.

“Uh, ok. If you’re not mad then why are you giving me the silent treatment? We’re not six year olds having a spat. We’re two adults trying to have a conversation.”

“You’re still only a teenager.” Derek corrected.

Stiles frowned, glaring at him. “You know exactly what I mean.” He pauses then, eyebrows going up as he dawns on something. “Is _that_ why you’re mad? Because you kissed an underage teenager? Seriously?! That’s what you choose to be mad about?” Stiles scoffs. “I thought it’d be something like, ‘I don’t like you,’ ‘That was gross,’ ‘You’re a dude,’ that kind of thing! Well, I mean, I did factor in the age thing too but, really? You’re only a few years older than I am and let’s face it, I’m just as mature as you are.”

Derek raises a mocking eyebrow and Stiles sighs. “Ok, I can be a bit immature sometimes but, seriously, age is _so_ not the issue here.”

“Then what is the issue Stiles?”

“That you kissed me back! That even though I started it with an angry yet satisfying kiss and you finished it with just as much enthusiasm. If I’m going to be staying here until my father gets better you’re going to have to talk to me, whether you like it or not. I’m a very social person, I like to talk, a lot, if you haven’t noticed, and I can’t simply hold one sided conversations all the time, especially if there’s a situation like this!”

“You seem to be doing rather well.”

Stiles groans in frustration, leaning his head back. “You are _so_ missing the point here Derek.” He leans forward again, not missing the intense glare Derek is giving his neck. “You see? You’re mad, but I don’t know exactly why. I’m not going to apologize for kissing you. It was absolutely amazing. However, I’ll apologize that it didn’t seem to be good enough for you.” Stiles scoots his chair back and stands. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

Derek stands up fast, almost knocking over his chair. “There won’t _be_ a next time.”

“What if I want there to be a next time?!” Stiles yells, his heart beating so hard in his chest he’s afraid it’ll come out through his mouth.

Derek grimaces and Stiles pulls back as if the expression had physically wounded him.

“Wow, I guess it really was that bad if you make _that_ kind of expression.” Stiles runs a nervous hand through his hair, his heart starting to hurt at its fast pace. It feels constricting. Too constricting. Stiles needs to get away.

Gasping, Stiles turns away from Derek. It feels like the start of a panic attack but it’s a little different. The pain wasn’t exactly coming from his lungs, more like from his side where the car had impacted during the crash.

“…iles. Stiles! What’s wrong?!”

Stiles doesn’t know how but suddenly Derek’s in his face, breath washing over his cheek.

“I…I uh…it happens sometimes.” He gasps. “Just…leave me…alone.”

Stiles tries to push Derek aside to get to his room, to curl up into a ball on his bed but Derek is an unmoving wall in front of him.

“Stiles, you’re hurting. Why are you hurting?”

Stiles looks at him, confused. “How’d you know?”

Derek shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Stiles grips Derek’s bicep hard. “No! I am not going to a hospital! I’m fine! It’s just a panic attack, nothing more. I don’t need any sort of doctor or physician or anything looking at me. I’ll be fine if I could just lay down for a bit. Just…leave me alone. Please. I don’t want you seeing this.”

Unshed tears make his eyes burn and he frantically blinks them back. Nothing more humiliating than having your person of interest staring at you while you have an episode. Stiles shakes his head continuously until finally Derek moves and the path to his room is clear. Quickly he runs to the room and slams the door, locking it so Derek can’t follow him.

“I’m sorry.” He gasps, eyes still burning. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t meant to happen. I didn’t mean to. I got worked up and…” Stiles shakes his head, not knowing why he was even saying this when Derek probably couldn’t even hear his whispered apologies.

Stiles sat next to his bed instead of on it, not wanting to take the effort to climb those last few feet and sat with his head rested on his knees. For a while he simply let himself drift in the silence after every panic attack he has before his mind starts up again with its endless noise. He had no idea why he freaked out like that. There was no rational reason for him to have panicked and what made it even worse was the fact that Derek had just witnessed all of that. If he wasn’t a freak before then he certainly was now.

After several long minutes Stiles picked himself up off the floor and winced when his side shot with pain. Quickly he brushed it off ignored the pain while he slowly paced the room. He didn’t know what to do with himself. Usually he was at work at this time but now he had too much free time on his hands and it made him feel useless.

Sighing, Stiles went to the door and pressed his ear to it, listening for any sign of Derek. When all he got was static silence he slowly unlocked the door and stuck his head out. Nothing. The trash had been cleared from the table and instead sat next to the back door but Derek was gone. Slowly Stiles left his room and went to the windows by the front door and peeked out to the driveway. Derek’s Camaro was gone.

Well, things were just fucking _peachy_ now weren’t they?

Stiles groaned and smacked his head against the wall a couple times. He just couldn’t say the right thing. He had to go and make everything worse not only for him but for other people too.

“This sucks.” Stiles hissed before heading back to the kitchen.

There were crumbs on the table and some trash on the counter so Stiles did the first thing that came to his mind. He cleaned. He knew this house probably better than Derek did so finding the cleaning supplies was easy.

For the next three hours Stiles cleaned everything he thought needed cleaning. He vacuumed, swept, mopped, dusted, sanitized, and wiped down every surface of the kitchen, his room, the living room, the other rooms down the hall, and the bathroom. He didn’t touch Derek’s room in case he didn’t want him in there. By the time he was done and his hands were raw from all the scrubbing Derek still wasn’t back and the fact was disconcerting. Maybe he’d finally driven Derek away.

The thought hurt but knowing that he’d taken a chance yesterday by kissing him and had been so harshly rejected today hurt worse now that he was gone. He felt like giving up. Like simply letting everything go. His feelings for Derek, his hope and want as well as dependency on him. He should let all of it go. But that thought hurt worse than the thought of Derek being gone.

Derek had kissed him back yesterday, fiercely. Stiles touched his lips at the thought. That had to mean something. The stares and the kiss and the words he’d given him when they’d went to that movie, all of it meant something. Stiles wanted that something. He wanted to _fight_ for that something. And he couldn’t do that if he ruined it all now.

Stiles took a deep breath and sat in his room with his door open so that he wouldn’t miss the sound of Derek coming in. He wanted to talk about this and really get the full story. There had to be some possibility of this all working out even though everything he’d done earlier made this a hell of a lot harder.

When Derek still wasn’t back a couple hours later Stiles felt his heart breaking a little bit more with each hour. Finally, when Derek wasn’t back by ten at night Stiles gave in and shut his door and turned out his light. Maybe he’d have better luck the next day. Maybe.


	18. Chapter 18

Monday.

Moooondaaaay.

Stiles groaned as he pulled into the Beacon Hills High School parking lot. The lot was full of cars already, students walking to and from cars, leaning against some as they waited for friends. The anxiety was already tightening his chest as students looked towards his rumbling Jeep as he pulled into a space at the very far side of the lot.

He sat there, for long minutes, trying to ignore the clock ticking away the minutes closer towards the start of the school day. Stiles was so lost in his dread that he failed to notice the person walking up to his Jeep and the knock on his door scared his heart into his throat. Jerking his head towards the window he relaxes as Scott’s goofy face fills his vision. Grabbing his backpack and car keys before opening the door and hopping out, locking the Jeep behind him before Scott jumps him, pulling him into a crushing hug.

“Dude! I haven’t heard from you in so long! I kept trying to send you texts and call you but nothing ever went through. What’s been going on?! I went to your house yesterday to see you but no one was home. Where’ve you been?”

Stiles holds up his hands to stop the onslaught of words and Scott obediently shuts his mouth. They start walking towards the school while Stiles comes up with a proper explanation that won’t reveal just how shitty his life has been.

“I’ve been…away. My dad’s cousin moved in a few miles away and we’ve been staying there for a while. My phone broke too so I haven’t really been talking to anyone. Sorry ‘bout that Scotty!” Stiles lies with false cheer, feeling his gut churn with guilt.

“Cool. You missed a lot of school bud. Is your dad ok with that? I went down to the station a few times over the last month to see if you’d be there but he wasn’t there either. Actually, the lady at the desk said that he wasn’t working there anymore. What’s that about?”

Stiles stopped them in the middle of the hallway, putting a hand on Scott’s chest. “Look, things have been a little difficult for us lately. My dad got fired which is why his cousin has been taking care of us. Just…I don’t want to talk about it ok?”

Scott stared at him, eyes curious but thankfully not suspicious. After another minute of uncomfortable silence Scott finally nodded.

“Alright dude, but just remember I’m here for you, ok? If you need to talk I’ll listen. I know I’ve been away all summer and I’m sorry I wasn’t there for that but I’m here now.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, sure. Thanks bud. I’ve got to get to class so I’ll talk to you later.”

Stiles quickly took off towards his classroom, leaving Scott behind, not wanting to hear anything else he had to say. There was no way he was going to discuss this sort of thing so early on such an intense day.

First class: History with Westover. Well, at least Westover wasn’t too much of a dick. Scott had had him last year and Stiles had visited the classroom many times when Scott was making up tests or just doing work. He’d often attend for free period as well to hang out with Scott. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

Luckily there were no introductions and most of the other students ignored him since there was no one he knew in the class. Stiles supposed he was lucky to have this class first since it was a more laid back class that actually managed to hold his attention for more than ten minutes at a time.

Second class: AP Literature with Blake. She was a new teacher that had begun at the start of the new school year so he had no idea what she’d be like. By the fifth minute in the classroom he knew things were going to be difficult with this lady. Sure she was pretty with a nice smile but she made him introduce himself then quote _Macbeth_ before he was allowed to take a seat.

Lydia was in that class with him and although he still loved her beautiful strawberry blonde hair and luscious, glossy lips he wasn’t in love with _her_ like he’d been for years. It was a strange feeling looking at her without feeling that familiar tug of longing in his chest. It was both nice and horrible. Horrible because instead his heart longed for someone else he had even less of a chance with than Lydia.

She still ignored him though which was actual a comfort in its familiarity.

The fifteen minute break between classes was nice. Scott gathered him from his classroom and they sat underneath the stairwell outside to avoid any other prying eyes or unwanted ears.

“I take it you don’t want me to ask questions?”

“It’d be nice if you didn’t.” Stiles confirmed.

Scott just nodded and handed him a small bag of chips and took a sip of his juice while Stiles popped open the bag. It had been an unpleasant surprise when he’d opened his bag in the first class to discover he’d forgotten his wallet at home that had his lunch pin written on a piece of paper in. He’d have to remember that tomorrow for sure because he was already starving and it was only 9 in the morning.

Sure he’d eaten breakfast but he’d been so nervous all he’d been able to eat was some toast with a bit of scrambled eggs which hadn’t sat well in the car. Now though he was relaxing which meant his stomach was calming which meant he was _hungry_.

Third class: Algebra II with Stowe. He liked this teacher. A kind, graying man with a mustache and glasses simply had him choose a seat and hadn’t bothered him until all the other students were busy with their in class assignment before coming over to his desk and crouching beside him.

“You’re pretty far behind but I’ve been made aware of your circumstances and I think I can allow you to take home simple worksheets instead of heavy textbook assignments. It might be difficult at first but if you stick to it you’ll catch up in no time. That sound fair?”

Stiles felt his shoulders sag with relief. “Yes sir. Thank you.”

Stowe gave him a knowing smile and patted him on the shoulder before returning to the front of the room. So far Stowe was definitely his favorite even if he did teach math.

Fourth class: Chemistry with Harris. Oh holy hell, the guy hated his guts. There was absolutely no need for the level of hostility he immediately received upon entering the classroom. Evidently the guy had a history with his father after being arrested for DUIs several times.

At least Scott was in that class with him. They could suffer in silence together since the second one or the other spoke they were called out by Harris. Suckage.

By the time the class ended Stiles wanted to pull his hair out. Scott was right there with him when they shot out of the classroom at high speed as soon as the bell for lunch rang.

“I’ll meet you beneath the stairs.” Stiles called as Scott headed for the cafeteria.

“Don’t you want to see everyone?”

Stiles gave him a confused look. “Everyone? What ‘everyone’? It’s always been just you and me.”

Scott’s face went all goofy. “Oh yeah, you haven’t met Allison yet.” He said ridiculously. “Just come with me now, you’ll meet everyone! Erica’s been talking about you since, like, a month ago and Boyd joined us a few days after she joined us. Seems he knows you from the grocery store but he won’t tell us how.”

Stiles breathes a sigh of relief that Boyd was such a quiet character. The prospect of going to the crowded, noisy, nosy cafeteria was not appealing though.

“Dude, it’s my first day back. Give me a break.” Stiles gave a stuttering half laugh that came with nerves.

“Come on Stiles! You’ve gotta come with me! Allison is dying to meet you! I talk about you all the time and she totally wants to meet you.”

Stiles wipes a hand across his face, sighing before moving towards the cafeteria with his friend. Scott claps him on the back.

“Thanks man!”

“Who _is_ this Allison anyways? It’s obviously a chick but why are _you_ hanging out with a chick? When did this happen?”

Scott gave him a look before going all goofy again. “She was a new student this year and, I dunno, we just…clicked. She’s awesome. When she agreed to go out with me I thought I was dreaming. Still feels like I’m dreaming. She’s amazing dude. She’s got these eyes, and her smile…” Scott sighs dramatically.

“Ok there Aladdin, back to reality. You’re really dating someone?” Stiles asks as they push through the doors to the cafeteria.

Scott doesn’t answer in favor of rushing to a table on the far left side of the cafeteria. A beautiful brunette rushed towards him, arms out, and wrapped Scott in her arms, kissing him firmly on the mouth. Well, that explained the dazed look on Scott’s face. She is beautiful.

When they finally parted Scott turned to Stiles who was awkwardly looking anywhere but at the two and said, “Allison, this is Stiles. Stiles, this is my girlfriend Allison Argent.”

Stiles lifted his hand awkwardly in a single wave before stuffing his hands back into his pockets.

“Hey, Allison, nice to meet you.”

“You too, Stiles! I’ve heard a lot about you from Scott. Is your name really not Stiles?”

Stiles shoots Scott an aggravated look before shrugging. “I prefer if everyone called me Stiles.”

“Stilinski!”

Stiles cringed, hunching his shoulders as his last name was shouted across the cafeteria. He knew that douchey voice. Slowly he turns to see the dirty blond, blue eyed, douche Jackson making his way towards him with Lydia right beside him, ignoring everything but her phone in her hands.

Jackson stops a foot from him, invading his personal space.

“Heard you got back today. I was wondering why Scott was missing his loser boyfriend. Where’d you go? You and your rent-a-cop father both disappeared for a while.”

Stiles clenched his fists in the pockets of his jeans and held his tongue for several seconds before answering. “I was away for a while. Why do _you_ care?”

Jackson smirked, “I don’t. The bench was looking cold and empty without you sitting on it during practice. Thought it might miss your loser ass sitting on it all day. Must say though, the view was much improved.”

“Dude, Jackson, lay off. He just got back. He doesn’t need crap from you.” Scott stepped up.

Jackson turned to Scott, sneer still plastered to his mother-lovin’ face, ready to talk shit to Scott too before Lydia smacked her hand against Jackson’s chest, leaving it there.

“Jackson, I’m bored and hungry. If you’re done talking I’d like the B lunch with apple slices.”

“Of course. These losers have nothing good to say anyways.”

Stiles felt anger burn within him as they both walked off, Jackson’s arm over Lydia’s shoulders over to the lunch line, cutting off several people already in line.

“I can see he hasn’t changed much. Neither has Lydia.” Stiles grimaced.

“Yeah but she can still come around buddy.” Scott clapped him on the shoulder and steered him towards the table Allison had gotten up from.

“Nah man, I’m totally over her.” Stiles said, plopping down into the cold chair.

There was silence from his friend for so long he looked up to see Scott’s face completely twisted in confusion. Allison’s was as well.

“How the hell are you over her Stilinski?” a voice asked behind him.

Stiles flinched again but thankfully it wasn’t Jackson’s voice again. He turned to see both Erica and Boyd standing next to the table, trays of food in their hands. Stiles sighed and rubbed at his face again.

“I haven’t seen her in a long time and she’s obviously not going to change then why should I pursue her and continue to torture myself?”

“Dude, you had a ten year plan. _Ten years_.”

“Well I abandon that plan because it was stupid and masochistic. Totally over her. Seriously.” Stiles tried to put as much force into his words as possible to get it across to Scott.

Erica and Boyd had taken spots on either side of the table, Boyd next to him and Erica across the table from Boyd. Scott and Allison sat as well, Scott on his other side and Allison across from him.

“Are you sure it has nothing to do with that hottie you came in with that one day about a month or more ago?” Erica questioned, biting into her apple with a vicious grin.

Scott quickly whipped his head around to stare at Stiles. “What?!”

Stiles quickly put his hands up, shaking them as well as his head to try and dispel the sudden turn the conversation took. “No, no, no! Erica, no!”

Erica continued smiling, one perfect eyebrow raised. “Oh yeah, definitely because of him. What’s his name by the way? I never got to find out after my boss started bitching to me about professionalism.”

“Him?!” Scott squeaked even higher. “I thought you weren’t gay!”

Stiles glared harshly at Erica before turning it onto Scott. “I’m not _gay_ I’m _bi_. There’s a huge difference.” He whipped his head back to Erica and continued glaring at her until her smile dimmed a little. “I’m _not_ telling you his name.” Stiles looked down into his lap at his twiddling fingers. “He doesn’t need the trouble.” He mumbled.

The table was silent for a while except for Boyd’s quiet eating and Erica’s loud crunching of the apple before Allison finally spoke.

“It’s totally fine if you like guys Stiles, no one here is judging you. It’s not a crime to like the same sex.”

Stiles gave her a small smile.

“Yeah, totally! We’re not judging you, I’m just kind of shocked. I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Stiles sighed. “What was I supposed to say Scott? There’s no easy way of saying that.”

“It’s _me_ though Stiles! I’ll accept you no matter what!”

“It’s because it’s _you_ that I didn’t want to tell you! I don’t know what I’d do if you were to react badly. I just…couldn’t risk it. You know now so that’s all that’s needed to be said about this subject. I do _not_ need this today. It’s too much to handle.” Stiles put his head in his hands and sighed.

Scott gently patted his shoulder before he and Allison got up to go get their lunches now that the initial rush had dwindled.

“Sorry Stiles. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Stiles raised his head and gave Erica a small smile. “Yeah you did but it’s ok. I get it. I’d want to know too if I were you and probably would have said a _lot_ more. Just…not today, ok?”

Erica nodded, smiling. “I’ll be asking about it later you realize?”

Stiles shook his head with a small smile. “Of course.”

Boyd turned and gave him a gentle smile before continuing to eat his food. Stiles’ stomach growled loudly at the sight and he sighed. It was going to be a rough rest of the day. Thankfully by the time Allison and Scott had returned the subject had been dropped and they were on the topic of Halloween that was coming up in three weeks.

Stiles didn’t pay much attention and instead spent most of the time pouring over his make-up assignments from the first four classes. By the time the bell rang Stiles had already done several questions in his history assignments and a page of math homework.

Fifth class: Physical Education with Ham. Stiles found it kind of ironic that the gym teacher’s last name was a delicious food. He was pretty cool though, letting Stiles join in only if he wanted to. Stiles decided to simply sit on the sidelines since the violent movements of dodgeball were a bit too much for his side which had been increasingly in pain over the last few months. It felt like his injury from the crash hadn’t healed right but the scar down his side was a healthy pink that had closed about a month after he’d gotten to the hospital. It was probably just the memory of the injury that made it hurt. Well, that’s what he told himself.

Because of the scars he’d opted to get dressed into his PE uniform in the bathroom stall rather than the locker room like everyone else. He’d lacked in self-esteem before but now it was completely destroyed. There was no way he’d let anyone else see him even semi-nude ever again.

Sixth class: Home Economics with Osland. Both Erica and Allison were in that class with him. Actually the majority of the class was all female, even the teacher. The current project they were working on was learning how to slice and dice vegetables and fruits. The teacher went over the lessons they’d already covered for Stiles’ benefit which included how to read a recipe, kitchen safety, as well as how to make basic cookies.

They were allowed to get into teams so Erica and Allison immediately made their way over to Stiles. Once they were all prepped and left to their own devices the room erupted into a cacophony of chatter.

“What do you have planned for Halloween Stiles?” Erica asked as she started washing the fruits and veggies.

Allison was right beside her, washing the knives, handling them expertly, and looked up at him expectantly.

“Uh, nothing. I have a _ton_ of work to catch up on and I’m taking two extra classes. I have no time to do anything for Halloween.”

“Oh please, you can take a single night off for Halloween. You can go trick or treating with us.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, didn’t you pay attention during lunch? We were all discussing our plans for that night.” Erica grabbed a clean knife from Allison and handed both it and a carrot to Stiles.

Stiles took the knife and carrot and sat them onto the countertop in front of him. “I was kinda preoccupied.”

“Hmm.”

Allison handed over the next knife to Erica before turning towards Stiles. “You can ask your friend to come too if you’d like.”

Stiles startled a bit at the mention of Derek. “Uh, no. No he would definitely _not_ want to go. What are you guys doing that night besides trick or treating?” he changed the subject quickly.

Erica smirked with her red lips before driving the knife into the unsuspecting apple violently. “We’re going to Lydia’s Halloween Bash that she has every year.”

Stiles pouted as he began dicing his carrot. “I’ve never been invited to one of those. How did you guys get an invitation?”

“Allison is her best friend.”

Stiles gave Allison a questioning glance and she simply shrugged in return as she finished slicing and dicing her cucumber despite being the last one to start.

“Well, that’s lucky for you guys then.”

“You too Stiles. You’re going whether I have to drag you by your ears.”

Stiles put down his knife and covered his ears with a mock pout. Erica just laughed and they finally changed the subject.

Seventh and last regular class: French with Morrell. This one was tricky since the class had already started expanding past the beginning phrases such as greetings and numbers as well as alphabet. Morrell was kind enough to not call on him for any questions and gave him all the starter worksheets.

Allison was also in that class with him but sat on the other side of the classroom. Oh well.

When the bell finally rang for the end of school Stiles was ready to rush out to the parking lot before remembering that he had supplementary classes thanks to his absences. Groaning he stopped rushing to put everything in his backpack and instead sat back down and slowly started putting everything away.

When he was finally the last student in the classroom Ms. Morrell came up to him and sat in the desk next to him. Stiles paused in his motion to stand and sat back down and faced her.

“Stiles, I know you’ve been absent for a while for family reasons but I don’t know the specifics of what happened. If it would help you to talk about it you’re always welcome to visit me in the counseling office or you can catch me between classes or after school here if you’d prefer that.”

 “Uh, I don’t really have anything to talk about.”

“Stiles, you left school before the end of your freshman year, came back halfway through the first semester of your sophomore year, your father is no longer Sheriff, and you have a scar on the side of your head. Trust me when I say that talking about it can definitely help.”

Stiles fidgeted uncomfortably. “Well, trust me when I say I _don’t_ want to talk about it.” Stiles said quickly and stood up, backpack slung over his shoulder.

“Just think about it Stiles. Only talk to me if you want to, I won’t force you.” Morrell smiled and got up from the desk and headed back to the white board where she began erasing the day’s lesson.

Stiles took a deep breath to calm himself before finally leaving the classroom.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to let all of you know that all of the 'factual' things in this entire work is all absolute shit. I know next to nothing about how underage jobs work, how hospitals work, or how custody thingies work. I'm sorry if I offend anyone by getting the information wrong but I assure you this is rated 'fiction' for a reason. Hardly any of it is actually true even though I try and be as realistic as possible. Thanks for understanding.

His first supplementary class was Trigonometry with Mr. Stowe. There were only nine students altogether in the class, none of them that Stiles knew, but the teacher wasn’t there yet. Several students stared at him as he walked to a seat in the back of the room before three of them leaned towards each other and started whispering furiously. One kid with dark hair and pale skin turned around in his seat and stared at him.

“Hey, you that Stilinski kid?”

Stiles started, unprepared for the question. “Uh, yeah. Why?”

“Is it true your dad crashed his car because he was drunk on duty?”

Ice flooded Stiles’ body as he listened to those words. How did they know about the crash? It had happened just outside of town and it hadn’t made the news.

“No it’s not. Why the hell would you ask me that?”

“Because your pictures were in the Beacon Hills General Newspaper. It was only a small article but it mentioned a severe crash. The police didn’t want to say anything on the subject.” Another girl replied.

“There weren’t supposed to be any pictures.” Stiles choked out, feeling himself starting to get a little breathless.

“I just happened to be passing by at the time of the crash and took a couple of shots before they shooed me off.” The kid confessed, shit eating grin plastered across his face.

“Oh! You’re the one that took those pics? Those were pretty sick dude.” Another boy laughed.

“Yup. I thought they were pretty good too. The newspaper ate the story right up. Got quite a bit of cash out of those shots.”

A girl who’d been sitting quietly next to him leaned forward and said, “Shut the fuck up you sick sons of bitches. They were both nearly killed in that crash and you all think it’s so funny? What if you’d been the ones in the crash? Would you be laughing then?”

“Shut up dyke. It wasn’t us, which makes it hilarious.”

The class broke out into cruel laughter before the door was pulled open and Mr. Stowe came striding in holding a stack of papers in his arms. Conversation was thankfully cut off as the class started and Stiles sent the girl a thankful look. She gave him a small understanding smile.

Turns out the photographer’s name was Matt and the kind girl’s name was Caitlyn. Matt kept glancing back at them throughout the lesson but both ignored him.

Stiles was immensely grateful when the teacher finally released them and Stiles purposefully took his time putting his things away so he was the last one to leave along with the teacher. Mr. Stowe didn’t ask any question as they walked down the hall only several feet apart and Stiles was grateful. The douchebags had loitered outside the classroom, eyes locking on him before the teacher came out and they finally scrammed.

Second and final supplementary class: English II with Blake. Again with the creepy teacher! Stiles couldn’t figure it out but for some reason this teacher, with her big smiles and ‘teen talk’, just weirded him out. Maybe it was just because Stiles didn’t know her.

Thankfully, although he was given many odd looks, there were none of the other kids from last class in this class. The subject still sucked though and it was just as boring as Miss Blake’s other English class. By the time the class let out the sky was starting to dim and Stiles was half asleep.

Gathering his stuff up he quickly darted out of the classroom ahead of everybody as soon as the teacher let them go for the day. The parking lot was dark since the school was hiding the sun so Stiles didn’t see the figure leaning against his Jeep until he was right next to it.

“Stiles.”

Stiles jumped, dropped his bag that he’d been rooting in for his keys, and gave a very many shout. Derek looked at him with an amused face before stooping to pick up his stuff from the ground.

“What the hell are you doing here?! Where’s your car?” Stiles asked, looking around for the showy, black Camaro.

“Peter dropped me off. He swung by to see how things were doing and to give me an update on your father.” He explained as he dangled the Jeep keys in front of Stiles.

Stiles grabbed them and unlocked the Jeep, climbing into the driver’s seat as Derek climbed into the passenger seat with his backpack.

“How long have you been out here?”

“Not long.”

Stiles rolled his eyes as they got on the road. “So, what did Peter say?”

“He said that your father is responding well to treatment. They had to operate on him once though to remove shrapnel that was still embedded in his abdomen and leg.”

Stiles felt his body break out in a cold sweat. “Is he ok? I thought they’d already operated on him at the other hospital.”

“They did to a certain degree. They did a poor job, only digging out the surface shrapnel and poorly sewing him up afterwards. Peter’s doctors had to reopen the healed scars and dig out the rest of the shrapnel because it was slowing his healing and actually damaging him further since his body was trying to fight it off.”

Stiles took several deep breaths as he tried to process what he’d been told. It took a bit of concentration to remain on the road but that concentration slowly brought him back from the panic.

“Does that mean he’s going to wake up soon then?”

“We don’t know when he’ll wake up. The drugs the doctors gave him really messed with your father’s brain. Peter took him off those drugs and used a milder drug that would still keep him under so that he’ll heal without being in awake for the pain. However, Peter’s not sure that he’ll wake up after he takes him off the drugs completely.”

“Ok. Ok. There’s a chance that he’ll wake up though, right?”

“Yes. There’s a good possibility that he’ll wake up but there’s still also a very real possibility that he won’t wake up at all. Just… be prepared.”

“No.” Stiles growled vehemently. “No, he’s going to wake up. He wouldn’t leave me all alone. Not like this.”

Derek didn’t say anything and Stiles didn’t push it. He didn’t need to hear anymore today. Instead he simply concentrated on getting them back to Derek’s. It was late and all he wanted was to get something to eat, finish a bit of his homework, and sleep.

When they rolled into the driveway Derek took Stiles’ backpack in while Stiles turned off his Jeep and followed. They didn’t talk until Stiles was seated at the table with a ham and cheese sandwich, a pear, and a bowl of grapes.

“Did you eat at school?” Stiles shook his head as he bit off a huge chunk of sandwich. “Why?”

Derek waited patiently while Stiles chewed and swallowed.

“I forgot my pin number here.” He explained quickly before stuffing his face with food once more.

“You could have just asked the lunch lady to look it up for you.”

Stiles paused halfway through a mouthful of sandwich before quickly finishing it. “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” He shrugged. “Oh well. I have bad eating habits anyways. I can take a break from fatty cafeteria food every now and again anyways.”

“It’s not good for a growing kid to skip meals.”

“I’m not a kid and I don’t generally eat so little. I was just nervous today.”

Derek nodded. “How was school?”

Stiles shrugged, refusing to make eye contact as he bit off the second to last bite.

“That’s not an answer Stiles.”

Stiles just glanced at him briefly before shoving the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, chewing slowly. Derek sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, making it obvious that he’d get an answer out of Stiles eventually. Stiles sighed and swallowed his mouthful.

“It sucked, ok? There’s a reason I didn’t want to go back.”

“You got to see your friends though, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, the best friend who didn’t talk to me or see me even once during the six months I had my phone before I got rid of it now has a girlfriend and even _less_ time for me. The chick that’d ignored me for the last eight years despite my huge crush on her since third grade still ignored me. Though I don’t like her anymore so I guess that doesn’t really matter. The dick that’s always pushed me around still pushes me around. Oh yeah, I got see them though. That makes _everything_ better.” Stiles sarcastically nodded and smiled before rolling his eyes and tugging the lid off the fruit cup.

“Were your classes ok at least?”

Stiles just gave him a long suffering look before once more rolling his eyes and digging his spoon into the Jell-O and fruit. They once again sat in silence for the few minutes it took Stiles to finish his fruit cup and set the spoon down on his crumb-filled plate.

“You know,” he began in a quiet voice, “the other students are saying my father crashed the car because he was drunk driving. They thought it was just _so_ hilarious that we’d been wrapped around a tree, barely alive and in absolute agony. They even have pictures.”

When Derek didn’t say anything Stiles looked up to see Derek leaning forward, hands clenched into fists on the table, face contorted in rage.

“Who was it? Who took the pictures? Who said those things?”

“They were one and the same guy and it doesn’t matter who he is. Let him assume whatever he wants, it’s not going to change anything.”

“Stiles, who was it?” Derek asked slowly and concisely.

Stiles picked up the pear and rolled it around in his hands. “Matt Daehler. He was just being a little shit though, he doesn’t matter and neither does what he say. I know the truth and that’s all that matters. End of story.”

“Stiles. You don’t still think this was your fault do you?”

Stiles gave him an incredulous look that said ‘are you kidding me?’ and Derek sighed heavily.

Stiles stared at Derek as he rubbed a hand over his face, scratching briefly at his scruff on his cheek before those green eyes finally settled back on him. Stiles looked away quickly and bit into his soft pear, distracting himself with the juice running down his wrist. Swiftly he ran his tongue up the trail and sucked the juice away from the bite so it wouldn’t run. When he looked back at Derek his eyes were staring intensely at his hand before darting back up to meet his before finally darting away.

“Well, I have work to finish. Do your homework.” Derek said gruffly as he stood up.

Stiles rolled his eyes. “Sure thing _dad_.” Stiles responded sarcastically before taking another bite of his pear.

Derek didn’t answer and instead just walked out, the sound of the door to his room closing soon after. Stiles sighed and finished his pear slowly. He really missed his father. It’d been a while since he’d last seen him. Last spoken to him. The absence hurt like a physical pain but Stiles quickly stamped it out and got up to throw away his trash. His dad was going to be fine, he was in good hands. There was no reason for negative thinking.

That night he did homework until almost midnight, finishing almost half of every classes’ assignments before sleep had him drooling slightly against a math worksheet.

 

They next two weeks were a blur of motion. Stiles found himself warming immensely to Allison and even a bit towards Erica. He liked Boyd a lot for his silent nature and Scott got increasingly annoying as he regaled every last thing he did with Allison, which, frankly, totally creeped Stiles out. Thankfully Scott made up for it by sharing his food with Stiles as well as having epic video game battles every other day at Scott’s house.

It was good to see Mrs. McCall again after so long. He’d never sought her out while he was in the hospital with his father, too ashamed to see her, but had actually missed her a lot. It was nice to have her being motherly to him again.

The closer they got to Halloween the more and more Erica and Allison tried to get Stiles to come with them trick or treating and to the party. Even Lydia joined in after a week and a half after Stiles’ arrival back at school. They were sitting at lunch a week and a half before Halloween when the three of them ganged up on him.

“I think you should dress up for your hottie friend.” Erica suggested wickedly.

Stiles sputtered, almost spilling his orange juice all over himself. Thankfully Allison caught the carton with her ninja skills before the damage could be done.

“What the hell Erica?!” he coughed.

“She’s right. It would dramatically increase your chances of getting laid if you dressed up in something sexy for Halloween. It _is_ the only time of the year that it’s appropriate to wear something sexy in public. Except for at beaches and pool parties.” Lydia chipped in.

“Not helping!” Stiles flailed.

“That’s actually a really good idea.” Allison smiled her dimpled smile.

“The question is: _which_ sexy costume should he wear? He’s got a slender build but his arms are pretty hairy. You’d have to shave if you wanted to pull off something like a risqué cheerleader or cat.” Lydia pointed out as she tugged on his sleeve slightly.

“No! I am _not_ dressing up! Especially not in something risqué!” Stiles floundered as the girls started prodding at him.

“Maybe something red or black since he’s got such pale skin. It’d make his moles stand out nicely too. Or maybe something exotic like a gypsy.” Erica suggested.

“Oo, yes. Red and black would look nice. Maybe a maid? A sailor?”

Stiles laughed when Lydia suggested maid. How ironic would that be? Then he’d get to clean for Derek the ‘proper’ way, with a uniform. The thought had him staring into space for a second before Lydia snapped his fingers in front of his face with a knowing smile on her face.

“A maid then? Sailor?”

“Ugh, not a sailor, that’s horrible. I’m not dressing up you guys! Not! No! N-O!”

“Maid it is then! I know of this website with the _cutest_ maid outfits. Jackson and I were looking through potential costumes and before we decided to be zombie cheerleader and lacrosse star.”

“Of course you would.” Allison smiled.

“You guys, even if I _were_ to dress up, which I’m not, there’s no way I’d wear anything that reveals so much skin.”

“Why? You have a nicely shaped body.” Erica purred.

Stiles shivered. “Ugh, no, just no Erica. Totally creepy.” Erica laughed loudly, more like cackled actually. “You should be a witch for Halloween Erica! Totally suits you.”

Erica just blew a kiss at him.

“Is this because you have scars?” Lydia asked with an exasperated expression.

Stiles startled and looked at her with worried eyes. Before he could panic she set a hand on his arm and gave him a serious look.

“There is nothing wrong with scars; they just show that you’re a survivor. Besides,” she said, throwing her hair back, “there are a lot of maid costumes that cover a lot and are still sexy. If you show me where the scars are I can find you one that would cover them.”

“No way. I’m not dressing up. I’m _not_ doing it Lydia.” Stiles evaded.

Lydia gave him a predatory smile and Stiles groaned long and loud.


	20. Chapter 20

Four days later they were all sitting in Lydia’s room, Scott was even there, which was absolutely humiliating for Stiles, but having his support was actually more reassuring. Erica had a plethora of make-up on hand, Allison was armed with a comb, razor, and gel, and Lydia was holding several hangers draped with a long plastic cover which all obviously held something sinister if her devious smile was anything to go by. Scott was just sitting there on the bed looking slightly traumatized but otherwise entertained.

“Ok, where do we start?” Stiles asked, his voice defeated.

“Oh cheer up, we’re doing this for your wellbeing.”

“You mean for your entertainment?”

“Yes, your wellbeing!” Lydia smiled.

Stiles groaned.

“First you need to shower and shave. Shave everything.” Lydia instructed.

Stiles stilled in his restless movements and gave her a look of horror.

“You mean shave my arms and legs right?”

“I mean shave your arms, legs, armpits, treasure trail, and crotch. If you have hair on your chest shave that too.”

Stiles stood there with his mouth agape, staring at Lydia in horror. Even Scott was looking slightly horrified.

“If you don’t do it then I will.” She threatened with the same sweet smile.

“You are evil. Pure evil, you know that?”

Her smile grew and she tilted her head a little. “Of course I am. I’m not at the top because of my niceness.”

Stiles shook his head, eyes narrowing. “How can someone so cute be so evil?”

“I’m amazing, that’s how. Now go before Erica and I drag you in there.”

“That was rhetorical!” Stiles groaned but turned to Allison who held out the razor for him.

Glaring he snatched it from her grasp and stalked into the beautifully decorated bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and started to undress, yanking off his three shirts before toeing off his shoes, socks and jeans. There was no knock before the door was pushed open enough for Lydia to poke her head through.

Stiles stared at her in horror, freezing in his surprise and forgetting to cover up until he caught her steadily gazing at his long, deep scar that spanned a little over a foot down his side from just under his shoulder blade to the top of his hip in the front in a jagged, diagonal line. Quickly he used the pants in his hands to hide himself as best he could. Lydia simply rolled her eyes and looked at his face instead.

“When shaving, shave against the hair for everywhere but your crotch, then go with the hair or you’ll be in a lot of pain when it starts to grow back.” She started to back out of the door but paused and looked at his covered side. “By the way, the scar is beautiful.” And with that she slammed the door.

Stiles stood there for many long seconds before he slowly started moving towards the large tub/shower. In an almost daze-like state he twisted the knobs to get the right temperature before he let the pants he was still holding against him go. Stripping off his boxers he climbed into the tub and closed the curtain, standing under the hot spray while his mind finally started working again.

The scar beneath his fingertips felt rough but also soft. The skin had the softness of newly formed skin but the roughness of odd edges where the scar jagged in different directions. The skin was solid like most scars were, taut. How could something so ugly be called beautiful?

Stiles stood there for a good three minutes just running his fingers over his scar before he shook himself and focused on the task at hand. The razor sat on the side of the tub as if mocking him and he sighed before turning to the many products lining the rest of the tub. There was no bar of soap so he had to read each individual bottle. Thankfully there was a tall, purple can with the words ‘shave cream’ but it was berry scented. Great. Not only was he going to be dressed like a girl but he’d smell like one too.

Stiles sighed and grabbed the bottle, popping the top open, and squirting it into his hand. It just looked like a simple gel but when he rubbed it on his arm it turned into a slick foam that when he ran the razor through left his skin silky smooth. Amazed he continued to shave the hair from his skin, pausing every other swipe to rinse off the choked blades.

After about five minutes he had both arms shaved and was in the process of spreading the shaving cream over the hair of his armpits. This was _not_ going to be fun. In under a minute he’d managed to nick himself and choke the blade with hair until it wouldn’t shave. It took a bit longer than the arms since he couldn’t really see what he was doing. By the end of it he’d nicked his left armpit twice and his right armpit three times.

Stiles sat down, legs out of the water stream, to shave his legs. The whole balancing on one leg thing would only increase his chances of cutting himself. This way he’d at least be able to move his legs freely.

Or not.

Turns out sitting on a hard, wet, slightly slicked tub floor made it incredibly difficult to hold still and shave at the same time. Stiles ended up mostly on his back with his leg up in the air, holding his calf still as he drew the blade against the growth of his hair. The angle made it almost impossible to reach over to the water stream to rinse the razor. By the end of _that_ he’d sliced himself numerous times on both legs and the blood ran in alarming streams down his legs. It was just the water making the blood watery so he simply kept his legs in the stream as he turned away from the water.

The crotch part was the most intimidating. Cutting himself there would hurt like a bitch and he had to get around both his dick _and_ his balls. Fuck.

For this part he went slowly, so very slowly. He contemplated just turning the water off but he needed it to rinse the razor and he didn’t want the others to think he was done. It took a good fifteen minutes to shave from his happy trail to his dick, around his dick, over his balls, and somehow he even managed to shave his crack. There was a bit of pride dancing in him when he managed not to cut himself once _and_ shave everything. Misplaced pride, yes, humiliating pride, again yes, but still he was proud.

His chest had very little hair so he quickly swiped the razor over that and set the razor on the ground so it would continue to be rinsed as he rinsed himself off thoroughly. Once he was hair free he shut off the water and grabbed the towel hanging on the rack by the curtain. It was pink but at this point he didn’t care.

Dry and smooth Stiles opened the curtain and stepped out, hanging the towel back onto the rack. Stiles reached down to grab his clothes on the ground but they weren’t there. His clothes were gone from the bathroom and instead there was a single pair of black, lacey panties sitting on the counter that wasn’t there before.

“Hey! Give me back my clothes!” he yelled through the door.

“Put on the underwear and come out!” Erica yelled back.

“No fucking way! The least I deserve is a pair of real underwear!”

“Put those on or come out naked!” Lydia yelled back this time.

Stiles groaned loud and long, frustrated with this whole thing. He’d liked to have kept even a _bit_ of his dignity. Picking up the underwear he held them in front of him.

“These are man panties! What the hell?! How did you guys even _get_ these?!” he yelled back in a higher tone than he wanted to admit.

“They’re made for man parts, yes. Now put them on and get out here!”

Stiles bit his lip on a seething comeback and balled the underwear up in his hand and raised it as if to throw it but held on.

“Damn it.” He growled and shook them out before stepping into them and pulling them up his smooth legs and over his hips.

Stiles had to admit, they were quite comfortable but there was too much clinginess. The fabric hugged his ass incredibly well, allowing half of the swell of cheeks to peak out from the bottom and the top hung almost dangerously low in front. They were sexy man panties damn it.

“How did you know my size?” he asks suspiciously.

“If you have them on then get out here. We have a lot more to do and we’ve been waiting for over an hour.” Erica demanded.

Stiles looked at his pale, scarred, shaven, panty-clad body in the mirror and grimaced. This was so not what he wanted to do today. Or ever. Yeah, never would’ve been good. The edge of the towel he’d used to dry off caught his eye and he quickly turned to it, yanking it back off the rack and wrapped it around his torso so it covered to mid-thigh.

Finally he opened the door just a crack and stood there, not wanting to show anyone else his scantily clad form. The girls instantly rushed him and tugged him out of the bathroom while Scott gave him an encourage grin.

“Leave the towel Stiles. We need to get you into the costume and we can’t if you hold that thing on. Drop it.” Lydia demanded sharply.

“No way, I don’t like it when my body is seen. It’s just… I’m not like you guys. I don’t the same curves, or nice skin, or…”

“Quit bitching and take the towel off Stiles.” Erica gently even though the words themselves sounded harsh.

“Stiles, dude, we’re all friends here. What are we going to do? Laugh? No way in hell buddy.” Scott said from where he sat on the edge of the bed.

Stiles gave him an unsure look but the gentle look on everyone’s face (except Lydia’s, which was impatient) had his fingers losing their death grip on the pink fabric until Lydia was able to take it from him and bare his body. Stiles immediately tried to hunch in on himself and cover as much of himself as he could but Allison softly touched his arm and gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s ok Stiles, no one is judging here. This is just a group of friends having fun.” She smiled.

Stiles slowly uncurled himself and stood properly and Erica smiled at him.

“Those look nice.” She smiled, pointing at his underwear.

Stiles rolled his eyes but his hands immediately went to cover his junk that was held snuggly by the soft man panties.

“They really do. I knew I chose the right ones. The red ones wouldn’t have made your pale skin stand out as much which is a really attractive feature on you.” Lydia said as he returned from hanging up the towel in the bathroom. “Now, time to pick which costume will look the best on you.”

Stiles groaned as she began taking all the costumes out of their plastic coverings. The first one was a frilly, lacey maid outfit. The white apron was made out of lace as well as the straps that went over the shoulders. There were bows and fake sleeves and layers underneath the skirt made out of a stiff, sheer material that did _not_ look comfortable. It came with a headband and black and white lace choker with ribbons.

The next one was made out a leather-like material, the skirt hanging flatter than the first with softer looking lace in layers beneath the skirt. There was still a lot of black and white lace but at least it wasn’t choking in bows. The torso had a white ribbon laced through rings to mimic a corset. It also came with a headband and choker.

The third was his favorite given the choices. It was a plain black material with no apron but poofed out wide with layer upon layer of white fabric beneath the black skirt. The torso was an inbuilt corset that laced with white ribbon in the back. The sleeves were a single black strap with puffed white short sleeves. A white lace line circled the top of the skirt beneath the corset and it also came with a simple lace choker and headband. However, the chest area was obviously made for someone with larger boobs than his man breast.

The last one had a lot more white. The large apron was white as well as the chest piece that looked like a shirt beneath the black torso piece. It had slightly longer puffed sleeves and a bit of white lace. This one only came with a headband.

“So, which one do you like the best?”

“Uh, if I have to pick one then the third one I guess.”

“It’s simple with a lot of black to bring out your pale skin. I’ll have to figure out what to do with the chest area then.” Lydia said as she picked it up off the bed where the others were all spread out and brought it over to the vanity against the wall.

“I also got a bunch of stockings that would match a maid outfit.” Erica stated as she picked up her bag and dumped out at least a dozen pairs of stockings. “I figured that I’d just keep whichever ones you don’t want.”

Stiles stared at the packages that were filled with lace and nylon and ribbons. It was a terrifying sight.

“Those things are going on my legs?! I don’t think so. They’ll never fit. My legs aren’t made for stockings.”

“All legs are made for stockings.” Lydia counters and picks up the packages to spread them out onto the bed beside the costumes. “Now come over here and pick a pair.”

“I don’t care which ones I wear! They’re all going to be uncomfortable anyways!” Stiles groans, exasperated.

“Fine, the three of us will each pick a pair and you’ll pick from those.”

Lydia labeled the stockings from one to eleven and the girls each picked one. Lydia picked up the first pair which was a basic nylon until it got to the thighs where it ended with a lacey, rose pattern that connected to a lace slip with ribbons that went over underwear. Erica picked ones that were similar but instead of nylon they were large fishnet diamonds. Allison picked a more basic pair that was just regular fishnets that ended at the thighs with giant bows.

“Um, Allison’s then. They look the simplest.” Stiles sighed, pointing towards the package Allison was holding.

“They are pretty cute. I think they’d definitely be better with the tops of mine. You know, It’s super simple to put the tops of mine onto those and it’d stay up better! You wouldn’t have to constantly adjust them since they’ll undoubtedly start to slip down as you walk. This way they’ll stay up and in place.” Lydia explained as she took both hers and Allison’s into her closet and came back with a small box of sewing supplies.

“While she does that let’s start planning the hair style and make-up you’ll be wearing on Halloween.”

“Please don’t make me look like a whore.” Stiles pleaded.

Scott laughed from where he sat on the bed and Stiles glared at him before turning around to sit in the chair in front of the vanity where all the make-up and shit was set up, waiting to maim his face.

Erica pulled his hand up from his lap and set it on the desk, telling him to leave it there, and began opening make-up palette after make-up palette. Vivid reds and purples, greens and blues peeked brightly out from between dark blacks and browns, silvery greys and golds. It was an intimidating collection. There were even several sparkly, glittery _things_ amongst those. Stiles muffled a groan. This was going to suck.

And it did.

For the next three hours the three girls (and occasionally Scott…fuck you Scott) made up Stiles’ face and hair, wiping make-up on and then off his face, gluing and then ungluing his hair. By the time that they had a satisfactory look for him his face was numb and his scalp felt like it’d been run through with a needle brush over and over. He had to admit though, he looked pretty good.

His eyes were very lightly outlined in black to accentuate his already dark lashes and was very lightly blended up from the corner of his eye to his crease line. Then white was lightly blended in the middle of his eyelid to the inner corner of his eye. It was a very subtle gradation between his own skin to the actual make-up. His lips were slightly darkened to a red that made his lips look like he’d been chewing on them for a few minutes and then glossed with a very thin layer of clear gloss. There was no foundation since it’d cover his moles and his skin was already pretty smooth. His hair, which was slightly longer than his usual buzz cut, was sticking up in the front and leaned slightly to the left and the rest of his hair was gently mussed. Altogether the look wasn’t that much different from what he usually looked like, just…sexier. 

“This look is perfect. Those other bolder colors didn’t suit you at all. Well, except for the red. You look really good in red Stiles. But that wouldn’t have fit the costume really. Now all that’s left is to look for a nice pair of shoes to complete the outfit.” Erica dusted off her hands of extra eyeshadow and powder.

“Let me grab the black feather duster in the hall closet. That’ll be perfect.” Lydia stood up from the bed. “Get changed into the stockings and costume Stiles.” She commanded as she left the room.

Stiles sighed and stood up, grabbing the dress and lifting it over his head and slipping it down over his body. The laces were undone in the back so it was fairly easy to slide into. The only difficult spot was the middle of the dress getting stuck around his shoulders but a couple good hops and firm tugs had it sliding down into place. Erica quickly got behind him and started tugging the laces tight so that the dress would conform to his body.

“I need to _breathe_ Erica!” he gasped as she gave a particularly harsh tug.

“Suck it in Stiles!” Scott laughed from the bed where Allison and he sat cuddling against the head board.

“I’d like to see _you_ go through this!” Stiles gasped at him. “Then we’ll see who’s laughing!”

“I laugh at the both of you.” Lydia said as she came back in holding a small feather duster.

“Why do you even have that?” Stiles asked as Erica finally stopped yanking and began tying up the ribbon into a bow.

Lydia shrugged and handed it to him. “Why not? It could come in handy and it has.”

“This is all so pointless? Why’d we do this today when I’ll just to do it all over again five days from now?”

“So that we know exactly how to make you up instead of spending those three hours trying to find a look _on_ the night of Halloween. Now we’ll have you done in half an hour flat. Now put on the stockings. I’m going to browse for shoes in your size.”

“I wear size ten.”

“I know. It should be around size eleven to twelve in women’s.” Lydia muttered as she pulled out her laptop and began searching through shoe sites.

“I am _not_ wearing heels.” Stiles protested vehemently when he saw the six inch stilettos pop up on screen.

“Oh please you big baby, you’ll wear what I pick. Though you’re right, high heels wouldn’t suit you. You’d be too tall for your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend! How many times do I have to tell you people?!” Stiles cried.

“Hmm, these ones look nice.” Lydia continued, completely ignoring Stiles. “There are some low, thick heeled ankle boots with laces that are super cute.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, whatever. I’ll only wear them for one night anyways. You guys are wasting your money.”

“Oh trust me, we’re not wasting out money.” Erica purred, raking her eyes over Stiles’ form. “As soon as you ‘friend’ sees this he’ll jump your skinny bones.”

“Hey! I’m not skinny.” Stiles pouted, hugging his arms to his chest.

“No, you’re lean. You’re all sinewy muscle.” Erica hummed, saying the words like they were dirty and sexual.

“Gah, please, Erica, please just…no. I soooo don’t need you doing that.” Stiles shudders.

“Careful Erica, Boyd might get jealous.” Allison laughs from the bed.

Erica’s face melts into surprise as she whips her head around to stare at Allison.

“How the hell…?”

“I have keen senses.” Allison chuckles. “That and the way you look at him is the same way I look at Scott. And vice versa.”

Stiles smiles wickedly at Allison and she dimples back. Erica just huffs and rolls her eyes.

“Whatever. Stiles, get your stockings on.”

Stiles laughs but does as he’s told, bunching up the fishnets and bows and stepping through the lacey slip Lydia had sewn on professionally and carefully tugged them up his smooth legs. The feeling was like nothing he’d ever felt before. Soft yet itchy, comfortable and yet totally uncomfortable. He tugged the top of the stockings up as far as they’d go over his thighs before pulling the lacey slip up over his man panties to rest on his hip bones. Huh, guess one size really does fit all.

Lydia slams her laptop closed and turns to face Stiles. “Yes, those are perfect. It’s just enough black that it doesn’t fully cover your paleness but it’s just enough cover that your paleness doesn’t drown out the black.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Get all technical with it why don’t ya? I’m not _really_ that pale.”

“Yes Stiles, you are.” Scott chuckles. “You practically glow in the dark you’re so pale.”

“Thanks for the backup dude! Jeez!” Stiles hisses in mock anger.

“No problem!”

Allison and Erica chirp with laughter alongside Scott and Stiles can’t help but smile as well. Lydia smiles as well but it’s a more of a privately amused smile.

“Well, now that the look is complete I’m going to take pictures so that 1) we have a reference for Halloween, and 2) so that I can blackmail you for the next ten years or so.” Lydia stated matter-of-factly as she whipped out her phone that looked like a digital camera.

“Whoa! No way! No pictures! I don’t want this haunting me for the rest of my life! It’s a one-time thing! I trusted you Lydia!”

“That’s your fault, not mine. Now hold still so I can get a good shot.”

Stiles flailed around, dancing from foot to foot. “No, no, no! Not happening!”

“He’s right. He’s not picture worthy yet. He’s forgetting this…” Erica comes up behind him and slides the maid headband over his head, “and this…” then ties the choker around his neck.

“What the hell?!” he exclaims wildly.

There’s a click, a beep, then a flash of blinding light that has Stiles blinking furiously, cursing loudly at both Lydia and Erica.

“He’s not looking at the camera but the shot actually isn’t half bad. Let’s try another with Stiles actually being cooperative. Come on Stiles, don’t mess this up.”

Stiles sighed but finally held still. “Well, when you put it that way.”

Lydia snapped pictures, repositioned him, and snapped more pictures. Stiles felt like he’d already posed for at least a hundred different photos by the time that Lydia finally decided she had enough.

“Alright. You’re going to have to shave the day of Halloween so that your skin is still smooth when we redo everything and if you try and back out of this I have all these wonderful pictures that I can post in every classroom of the school.” Lydia threatened.

Stiles just sighed and nodded. “I’m not backing out. I am, however, washing all of this off my face, out of my hair, and changing into my normal clothes.”

“’Kay. Make it quick, I’m going over to Jackson’s in half an hour.”

“Yes your majesty.” Stiles said sarcastically and gave a mock bow.

Lydia just flipped her hair, looking pleased at the title. Stiles rolled his eyes and collected his clothes and finally washed himself free of all the gunk. However, the corset was harder to undo than he though and finally had to have Erica come and unknot the ribbon and unlace it so that he could slip it off without ripping it. She laughed the entire time.

By the time he exited the bathroom everyone but Erica was gone.

“What’s up? You need a ride?”

“Actually yeah. Lydia’s going the opposite direction of my place and Scott and Allison are, well, Scott and Allison.”

Stiles nodded enthusiastically. “Gotcha, loud and clear. Come on, I’ll give you a ride. Where do you live?”

“Out by the diner down General Street.”

“Oh, ok. I used to work at that diner, I know exactly where that is.”

“Sweet! Thanks.”

“No problem.”

They chat as they go to her house, talking about nothing in particular until they make it to General Street and Erica suddenly asks gently, “What’s the relationship between you and that guy?”

Stiles was silent for several beats before sighing. “Honestly, I don’t really know. I guess you can call him my guardian for right now but that’s only because my dad is still in the hospital. I started out as his house cleaner but then I became his friend and I think we were headed towards something more until…well…he found out about who I am.”

“That was my fault wasn’t it?”

Stiles looks over to see Erica’s face drawn down in what looked like regret and guilt. He quickly reaches over and sets a gentle hand on her arm.

“It’s ok. It was bound to happen eventually. It just happened sooner than I thought it would. It never would have worked out between us anyways. He’s…well, you’ve seen _him_.” Stiles chuckles. “I’m just…me.”

“What the hell are you on about Stilinski? Haven’t you seen a mirror? You’re fucking gorgeous.” She lets out a small, bitter laugh. “I was actually totally head over heels for you in freshman year.”

Stiles gives her a strange look before he pulls over in front of a bunch of houses a little past the diner.

“I had no idea. I mean, you’re absolutely stunning Erica but I never really looked at anyone except for Scott, as my best friend, and Lydia, as my love interest.”

“But now things are different, aren’t they? You really like this guy.”

Stiles sighs before answering, “Yeah. I really do. His name’s Derek.”

“That’s why you hesitated on the maid costume idea wasn’t it?”

Stiles blushes an embarrassing shade of red before nodding. “Don’t tell the others though. I don’t need Jackson or Matt finding out about this. The rumors and bullying would become unbearable if they found out and I _really_ don’t need that right now.”

Erica nods and gathers her things, turning towards the door but stops before she pulls the handle. “You should tell him how you feel. What I saw back at the restaurant wasn’t just ‘like’.”

And with that she was gone, climbing out of his Jeep and slamming the door behind her as she walks down the street to a small house with the front lights on. Stiles sits there, making sure she gets into her house alright and then longer to think over her words. He had an idea of what she meant but over the past couple of weeks Derek had been completely ignoring him, only saying general greetings and asking monotonous questions before retreating into his room once again. It was painful to go through but Stiles understood it. At least…he thought he’d understood it.

Maybe not as well as he’d thought. Maybe five days from now he’d finally be able to change things. Maybe.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There seems to be a bit of a miscommunication in my writing about Mrs. McCall knowing about Stiles’ situation. She Did NOT know about the situation. The admittance of Papa Stilinski was kept secret from the rest of the staff for the scam to take place. No one knew about Stiles’ situation except for the three hospital staff who took part in the scam. Mrs. McCall had no idea. In chapter 19 it says “It was good to see Mrs. McCall again after so long. He’d never sought her out while he was in the hospital with his father, too ashamed to see her, but had actually missed her a lot.” Which means she did not know therefore Scott didn’t know. Sorry about the miscommunication. Yes there are a lot of inconsistencies but for the sake of the fic hardly anyone knew. I thought I’d made it clear in previous chapters and I’m sorry it didn’t come across correctly. It was only just revealed that Matt had taken a picture and sold it to the newspaper so a few people do know but not a lot.

When Derek got home from visiting his parent’s house per their request, Stiles’ Jeep wasn’t parked in the driveway. It was Monday night and he had school in the morning. Quickly he tugged out his phone and pressed Stiles’ number, quickly pressing the phone to his ear. A dial tone and automated message informed him that the current number he was calling was no longer in service and to hang up. Confused he looked at his phone to make sure he had the right contact and pressed the dial button again. Still no answer.

Frustrated he stormed inside and looked through his papers on his desk to see if maybe he’d written the wrong number down even though he knew the one in his phone was correct. There was nothing.

“Stiles, what the hell are you doing?” he growled to himself and went out to the living room to wait for Stiles to get home.

Stiles had finally convinced Derek that he needed _something_ in the living room so he’d bought a cushiony couch that reclined and had cup holders in the arms per Stiles’ request. He sat there now, watching the front door and clutching his phone in his hand so he’d be able to answer it immediately if Stiles called.

There was absolute silence for the next two hours. Derek’s patience was starting to wear thin when a familiar rumbling engine started down the gravel road to Derek’s house. Anger lit once again within Derek’s chest and he growled low and menacingly deep in his chest. It only amplified when the Jeep headlines shone through the darkness before Stiles turned off the Jeep and climbed out. Derek was standing by the door when Stiles opened it.

“Where the _hell_ have you been? You don’t answer my calls and it’s a school night. You…” Derek froze, catching Stiles’ scent and finally really seeing him.

Stiles was frozen, heart hammering loudly in his chest as he stared up at Derek with wide eyes surrounded by smudges of dark…something. He also reeked of artificial berry scent and make-up. Stiles began fidgeting as the silence stretched on while Derek did a full sensory check of him. He didn’t smell like sex but he definitely smelled like females. Plural.

“What. The. Hell. Stiles?” Derek ground out, teeth gnashing with anger.

“I, uh, I went over to a friend’s house and we got carried away and I accidently stayed out past curfew and I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to, I swear it’ll never happen again. We were doing an experiment with something and it took _waaay_ longer than any of us anticipated and…”

“Stiles, shut up.” Derek growled and Stiles immediately shut his mouth, cowering back slightly against the hot fury rolling off Derek. “Why do you smell like a girl?”

Stiles stood up straight, mouth popping open wide in shock. “I _what_?! I smell like a _girl_?! I…oh… I had to take a shower over there.” Stiles’ scent immediately turns embarrassed and he starts fidgeting, face emanating heat. “I kind of got really messy and it seriously got _all_ over so I took a shower over at my friend’s house. Don’t worry though, all the people who were there were spoken for so nothing bad was happening, I swear.”

Derek stared at him for several long minutes even after Stiles had sputtered to an embarrassed stop. There was no uptick in his heart beat or stutter in his words. Stiles was telling the truth.

“What do you have on your face?”

Stiles’ face blanked once again into shock and a little bit of horror as he started wiping at his face.

“What?! I thought I got it all! Damn it! Freaking girls and their stupid freaking stuff, messy, gross, why?” Stiles muttered as he furiously wiped blindly at his face.

Finally Derek started to calm down, relieved that Stiles hadn’t _been_ with other people. It was Derek’s turn to blanch as he realized what he’d just thought. He had absolutely no right to tell Stiles who he was or wasn’t allowed to date. Damn it!

“Then what about your phone? I tried calling you multiple times but kept getting a dial tone and automated message. Is it dead or off?”

Stiles looks up at him startled and a little confused. “No, I haven’t had my phone in a while. I had to stop paying for it so I could save that money. I thought you knew. It was right after that last time I called you to come over.”

Derek frowned, thinking back to the last time he’d actually called Stiles. Huh, he hadn’t realized it’d been so long.

“Oh, right, sorry. I…didn’t know.”

Stiles shrugged. “It’s ok, you don’t have to apologize. I didn’t tell you either so it’s totally my fault. I’ll make sure to follow your curfew from now on, I won’t break the rules again, I’m sorry.”

Derek sighs and finally backs off, trudging back towards the couch and sitting down heavily. Stiles just stands at the door, looking unsure.

“No, it’s alright. You… you should hang out with your friends more often. You’ve finally started acting like a teenager.”

Stiles just keeps staring at him, obviously not understanding by the look on his face.

“You’ve been more relaxed lately. I was…concerned. I’ll move the curfew to eleven instead of ten and I’ll get you a new phone so I have some way of reaching you.”

“No way man! This was a one-time thing…actually, it was preparation for the 31st so it’s gonna happen again on that day but after that it’s never gonna happen again, I swear. There’s no need to waste your money. The extra hour is pretty awesome though. Thanks.”

“I had no idea where you were today or when you’d be coming back or _if_ you were coming back. I’m getting you a phone, no discussion.”

Stiles sighed long and exaggerated. He opened his mouth as if to argue the subject some more but Derek gave him his best ‘no nonsense’ face and he quickly shut his mouth again.

“Fine, do whatever you want. I’m going to do some homework before bed. Good night.”

“You might want to shower again. You really smell like a girl.”

Stiles groaned, face flushing in embarrassment and Derek couldn’t help but feel a spark of pleasure at the reaction before stamping it down hard and standing up, retreating to his bedroom without another word.

Over the last few weeks Stiles had finally begun relaxing, his face lighting into smiles more often, cracking jokes and having fun. He spoke of his friend Scott often as well as a few newer names with an odd sense of fondness. Derek would question it if he wasn’t so glad Stiles wasn’t trying to leave anymore. There were still some days when he’d come home smelling like sadness and pain and wouldn’t talk much but in the last week he’d only retreated back into himself maybe once or twice, if that. It was relieving.

Derek hadn’t been sure what to do about the boy after that night he’d allowed himself to indulge in himself and the boy and shared that heated kiss. It’d been a mistake, one he’d thought would cripple what little they’d built between them, but Stiles hadn’t brought it up once. There were some heated moments, arguments and intense stares that had Derek tensing but just as soon as he thought that Stiles was going to bring it up for sure the moment would pass and Stiles was slumping into himself or joking away the moment.

So Derek would end up sitting in his bed with a book in his hands, not comprehending any of the words he read as his mind turned aimlessly, listening to the boy in the other room get ready for and go to bed, like he was now. Stiles made him feel like he was swimming in emotions and _lust_. The amount of arousal that poured off the boy had grown over the last few weeks and it had Derek _aching_ to get his hands on the boy. It was becoming unbearable. One slip up and he’d have the boy bent over the kitchen table and panting on his dick before the boy could utter a single syllable.

Stiles groaned in his sleep and Derek felt heat shoot through him. When Stiles had jerked off the second he’d gotten out of that room after the kiss Derek had had to listen to it, dick aching as he tried not to succumb to the temptation. It was futile.

Derek set aside the book he hadn’t read a word of and thought back on the feel of those luscious, full lips, the feeling of the slick slide of his tongue when he’d opened up so sweetly under his firm touch. The sensations had been almost overwhelming. His dick pulsed heavily in his night pants and only lasted another minute of listening to Stiles’ quiet noises of sleep before he had his hand smoothing down his abdomen and under the elastic band. The groan he let out when he finally got a firm hand around the base of his dick was low and filthy, barely restrained.

Derek tried not to imagine the plush cupid’s bow of the kid’s lips stretched taut over his cock, he really did, but as his cock grew firm under his cruel tugging his mind was filled with visions of honey brown eyes peeking shyly up at him from beneath dark lashes, an upturned nose buried in the dark, coarse hair at the base of his cock, and long, pale fingers gripping his thighs as he pulls and pushes himself on Derek’s cock, choking on it.

Derek comes with a muffled whine, covering his fingers and stomach with the thick liquid. It’d been a while since he’d relieved himself and the satisfaction buzzed through his veins as much as the disappointment did. He _should_ have more control than this. Stiles just brought out the worst in him, a side he hadn’t let out in _years_. It was both terrifying and exhilarating.

As Derek cleaned up and finally got ready for bed he thought about the events of today. He’d nearly panicked when he’d come home to an empty home and then couldn’t get in contact with Stiles. Then he’d come home smelling of females. It was disconcerting as much as it was relieving. What could he _possibly_ been doing that would leave him smelling like that? Derek thought about asking in the morning but it really wasn’t any of his business what Stiles did.

Was he even doing the right thing? He didn’t know how to take care of others. All these questions were getting redundant.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh, I am Sooooo sorry that the previous chapter was such a disaster. Every single one of my chapters is completely unbeta'd because I don't work well with other people. I hope this chapter makes up for the atrocious 21st chapter. Urgh. 
> 
> The chapter after this is a little bit...intense, just to warn everyone now. Things pick up quite fast after going slow for so long. Please don't hate me!!! 
> 
> I should put a disclaimer here since I haven't put one in a while: I DON'T OWN TEEN WOLF!!

Stiles had already been in the bathroom for an hour already, shaving thoroughly and worrying about tonight under the spray of the shower head. He still didn’t know what exactly he’d be doing once the girls had him all prettied up but he had a sinking feeling that it’d be humiliating. The phone on the counter buzzed, startling him out of his thoughts and he quickly turned off the shower and toweled off his hand before grabbing his phone.

Lydia: _Hurry up! We need to get the costume and make-up on you before 6!_

Stiles glances to the upper right corner of his phone screen. 4:46. Holy hell he was _not_ ready for this!

Stiles: _I’m leaving the house! Give me 20 minutes!_

Lydia demanded his number the day Derek had given him his new phone and said if he didn’t text her in proper sentences there’d be consequences. Stiles didn’t know what those consequences were but knowing Lydia it’d probably be something either humiliating or painful, neither of which he was fond of.

Stiles quickly toweled off completely and tugged on the panties Lydia had given him at school that day before tugging on a pair of loose jeans and his plaid shirt and jacket. He hopped out of the bathroom, pulling on his socks as he went stumbling to his room to grab his shoes, keys, and wallet. Once he was ready he scurried out toward the front door. Derek was standing in front of the door, arms crossed and looking menacing.

“Where are you going?”

“Dude, it’s Halloween, I’m going to hang out with my friends. I’m already late!” Stiles quickly explained, flailing a bit in his sudden nervousness.

“Your curfew is still eleven.”

“I know! It’s just a small Halloween Part with Scott and a few others. I’ll only be gone a couple hours. Now _please_ let me through?!” he dances from foot to foot in desperation. He didn’t want to have this conversation right now, not when he was so nervous with an edge of anticipation.

Derek made him wait for several more long seconds before finally stepping to the side and Stile was _gone_. Without looking back Stiles ran to his Jeep and hopped in and was driving out of there before a minute have even passed.

In the Jeep Stiles’ phone rang and a shot of fear sparked through him before he got it under control. No phones in cars. No way. Not after the crash. When he pulled up to Lydia’s house Lydia was already outside, holding her phone in her hand and looking irate.

“I told you to be here by 5 Stilinski! It’s already 5:15! Hurry up and get your ass in there and start getting changed.” She commanded.

Without saying anything Stiles hopped to it, running up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. Allison and Erica were already there but Scott wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Scott?” he asked, turning to Allison as he started unzipping his hoody.

“He’s coming around 6.”

Stiles nodded his understanding as he tugged off his shirt and jeans, feeling his face heat up even though he had no need to worry about the others seeing his scars, it was just a knee jerk reaction. Allison handed him his costume piece by piece and it only took him a couple minutes to tug everything into place. He felt slightly ridiculous but he couldn’t help but feel kind of…sexy? It _was_ a nice costume after all. The make-up took a little over fifteen minutes since he kept blinking when they tried to do the eye make-up. The final product was a piece of work and it was 5: 41 by the time the girls deemed him done.

“Thank goodness we still have time. Stiles, you and Erica help put food out on trays in the kitchen. Allison, I need you to go fetch the bottles of soda and alcohol from the outside fridge. I’m going to go pick out the music. Chop, chop everybody! We have barely twenty minutes!”

They all scrambled to comply, Stiles wobbling slightly in the odd shaped shoes his feet had been forced into. His face felt heavy and his body felt awkward dressed in the short, gaudy outfit that made movements difficult. In the kitchen Erica pulled out a bunch of trays while Stiles began pulling the premade snacks from the fridge.

“Have you told Derek about your feelings yet?” she asks once they’re alone and elbow to elbow putting food on the platters.

Stiles shakes his head. “Of course not. How in the world would I be able to tell him? He doesn’t even like me like that, I’m sure of it. I mean, he’s told me specifically that his tastes aren’t restrained to females and he _did_ react that one time I kissed him but other than that he’s only shown signs that I annoy the shit out of him. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he outright rejected me.”

“You two have kissed?” Erica asked, expertly arranging deviled eggs onto a large, white platter.

“Yeah but it was my fault. We were arguing and I had this really strong urge to kiss him angrily and so I did and then he reacted _really_ strongly but then he pulled back with this absolutely horrified and angry expression and fled and I felt so guilty after that. Well, I felt guilty after I jerked off.”

Erica chuckled. “You two are so stupid. What’s the worst that could come of you telling him you like him? He could reject you, yes, but think about all the _good_ things that could come from telling him. He could, and probably does, like you back and you two can have hot, angry sex all the time. Besides, who in the _world_ could say no to you?”

Stiles glares sideways at her. “You mean _everyone_ I’ve ever talked to?”

Erica shakes her head and gives a pitiful shake of her head. “You know, I used to like you so much and even now I think you’re pretty great. I’m sure that if given a chance to know you everyone would come to love you. You’re pretty great you know, even if your mouth runs away from you all the time. I’m about ninety percent sure that Derek is totally digging everything Stiles.”

Stiles sighs and simply shakes his head, putting a full tray on the other side of the counter and pulling up another empty tray to fill. They work in silence for a bit until Allison walks in with an armful of drinks.

“Hey Stiles, can you grab one of these before I drop it?”

Stiles rushes over and grabs two bottles from her and put them on an empty counter, pulling out plastic cups from the cupboard above them.

“Thanks, you’re awesome.”

Stiles smiles and goes back to helping Erica.

“So, I know we don’t really talk about it but… can I ask what really happened over the summer? I mean, I already know some stuff but really it’s only rumors around school and in the newspapers. I’d rather hear it from you than listen to what could be lies.” Allison asked after several minutes of silence.

Stiles’ hands still at the question for just a second before he takes a deep breath and says, “My dad and I got into a car crash in early April. He…uh… he had a heart attack on the way back into town after going to rescue me from a hole I’d fallen into when I went for a walk through the woods in the middle of the night.” Stiles gives a humorless, bitter laugh. “What a stupid thing to have been almost killed over. If I hadn’t…” Stiles shook his head sharply. “Well, we crashed pretty badly and he’s been in a coma ever since. I had to pay for his expensive care for a long time, which is why I wasn’t in school. But then I found out that I was being scammed by some of the hospital staff and Derek and his family took me in since they were the ones who’d found out about it and I don’t have any other relatives in this country.”

Allison and Erica were silent, working slowly as they thought through what they’d just been told. It was Lydia who’d been leaning against the doorway to the kitchen who finally broke the silence.

“That makes much more sense than what I’ve been hearing. Your dad got let go and people were talking but no one seemed to know where he’d gone. How come Scott’s mom didn’t know about this scam? Didn’t she work in the same hospital?”

Stiles cringed. “That’s also partially my fault. I didn’t want to see her in case she told Scott what had happened. I didn’t want anyone to know, I mean, I still don’t really want anyone to know but it’s better to tell you guys than have you assume it was my father’s fault. Besides, Scott was busy with his lacrosse practices, he didn’t need more to stress over.”

“Stiles, he was really worried about you when he couldn’t get a hold of you. When he’d dropped by your house and found it almost completely empty he freaked out.” Allison scolded as she poured a large bowl of punch and lemonade.

“Oh right. I forgot he had a key. I just…”

“We know what you ‘just’ Stiles. We’re telling you that it was stupid and to never make us worry like that again.” Lydia admonished.

Stiles gave her an odd look. “I didn’t think you’d care at all. You never even looked at me throughout freshman year. Actually, you haven’t looked at me since third grade.”

“Of course I’d notice when something as big as this hits this town and involves someone in the same grade as me. People talk Stiles and the majority of that chatter isn’t kind or truthful. Getting to know Scott was very useful.”

Stiles gave her a hurt glare. “You can’t just use Scott like that.”

“What she means, Stiles, is that she wanted to know the truth since she didn’t believe the stories being told. When Erica said she’d talked to you a month prior he immediately began pressing for information and started driving around that part of town looking for you in his mom’s car. I joined in a while after. We didn’t hear anything new about you until Boyd heard us talking about you and sat with us at lunch to divulge that he’d seen you around town and that you were safe.” Allison explained.

Stiles felt a sharp ache in his heart knowing that his friends had been so worried about him. “I’m sorry, it just…wasn’t your problem and I didn’t want Scott worrying. I didn’t know you or Erica or even Lydia so I didn’t think I was having very much of an impact on anything. I thought Scott wouldn’t notice since he hadn’t responded to any of my calls or texts for months. Turns out he’d lost his phone battery at that lacrosse thing. Which I didn’t know!”

Erica puts a hand on his shoulder. “We know. We’re not blaming you. We just want to know what happened and that you’re ok.”

Stiles sighed. “Yeah, I’m ok. I think. Stressed about my dad. I haven’t gotten to see him in a while since he’s an hour away at the hospital Derek’s uncle runs. I mean, I get updates every now and then but it’s not enough to subdue the worry. I’m also stressed about _Derek_ because there’s this… _thing_ between us that I have no idea what to do with or interpret. Urgh.”

They were all silent for a beat before once again Lydia piped up.

“Well, that’s what tonight is for! You are going to wear that home and seduce the hell out of that man.”

Stiles gaped at Lydia. “That is so not going to happen. He would freak out! Not in a good way kind of freak out!”

“Oh yes it is Stiles. He’s going to snatch you up and eat you, trust me.” Erica promised, wicked eyes dancing behind smoky make-up.

Stiles groaned. “I just can’t. I’m… kinda scared of what might happen. Or what might _not_ happen.”

“You need to grow some balls Stilinski.” Lydia reprimanded before turning and hurrying out of the kitchen.

Stiles opened his mouth to say something snarky in return but the doorbell cut off his reply.

“That’s probably Scott.” Allison flashed her dimples and ran off towards the front door.

Stiles rolled his eyes and began arranging the platters nicely on the counter now that all the food had been evenly distributed amongst the platters.

“So what are you for Halloween?” Stiles asked Erica as she did the same.

“As soon as I get my mask and ears on I’m going to be Catwoman. Can’t you tell by the spandex?”

“Not really. You’re usually wearing something black and form-fitting nowadays.” Stiles said with a roll of the eyes.

“Don’t be jealous!” she laughed.

Scott and Allison and Stiles couldn’t help but laugh when he stepped into the kitchen.

“Dude! What are you _wearing_?!”

Scott blushed but struck a hero’s stance. “I am Robin Hood! I steal from the rich to give for the poor! Allison is my Maid Marian.” Scott gushed, turning his love sick eyes on an equally love sick Allison.

“Oh please, get a room you two. I’m gonna hurl if I see anymore.”

“Just wait until you and Derek are doing that. You’ll think it’s the greatest thing ever.” Erica teased and bumped him with her hip on her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to get the rest of her costume.

Scott gave him a confused look. “Derek? Who’s Derek?”

Stiles quickly turned towards the living room. “What was that Lydia? You want me to come and help you? Alright! Sorry Scotty, gotta go help the ladies!” he lied and quickly retreated to the other part of the house.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I completely rewrote this chapter since there've been some concerns regarding Stiles' consent and I tried to clarify that there's absolutely NO non-con in this, his refusals are all the 'reject for the sake of rejecting' kind of thing. He trusts his friends and they aren't forcing him to do anything. I'm trying to get him to come out of his shell. I'm sorry that it doesn't come across that way to some people but I'm explaining right now that Stiles is doing as they say because he WANTS to, not that he's forced to. Lydia, Erica, and Allison are doing what they're doing to help him move on from the crash and help him with his struggles he's currently facing which Includes Derek. Please understand that there's NO non-con and that it's rated UNDERAGE for a reason. Thank you.

The party was a blast. Stiles had anticipated leaning against a wall and drinking spiked punch or sitting at a table with his face buried in a plate of whatever was in front of him but what ended up happening is five people asking him to dance and many others who simply dragged him into the mess of people and grinding into him to the beat of the music. Stiles hardly knew any of them, male or female, who rubbed up against him or caressed his cheek or thigh but it was still fun. Stiles lost himself in the wonders of the party until his stomach growled loud enough to get his attention and he finally excused himself towards a slightly quieter part of the house to eat a plate full of pizza, chips, dip, and chicken nuggets. He held an unopened water bottle since he had to drive later and didn’t want to chance any of the open drinks.

There were couples milling about in the room he ended up in and made sure to keep his eyes fixed firmly on his plate just in case there was something unseemly going on. Quickly he checked his cell phone (which he’d stored in the super useful, empty bosom of the dress) and gulped down a rough bunch of chicken as he realized it was already ten twenty-five. He had less than an hour to change out of this ridiculous dress, wash off all the make-up and drive all the way back to Derek. Fuck. He was so screwed!

Throwing away his plate he went up the closed off stairs and straight to Lydia’s bedroom. The door was open with a light spilling out into the dark hallway and he carefully pushed it open just in case he disturbed anyone inside. Lydia was sitting against the headboard of the bed, head in her hands and knees pressed up against her chest.

“Lydia? Are you ok?” he asked quickly, going to her side immediately.

Her head shot up out of her hands and he took in the sight of her running make-up and blood shot eyes.

“What happened?” he asked sternly.

She shook her head and gave a small sob. “Jackson never showed up even though he swore he was going to be here. He’s probably off with some little whore.”

Stiles quickly pulled himself up onto the bed and sat right next to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

“If he is then there is absolutely no way in hell he deserves to keep you and there’s no way that you deserve something like that done to you. I’ve always told you, Jackson’s a total asswipe.”

Lydia shook her head. “He’s just misunderstood. He and I are so alike, I _get_ him. I just thought I’d mean something to him too.”

“It doesn’t matter if you get him, _he_ doesn’t get _you_. You need someone who won’t treat you like a trophy and gives you the love you deserve. _Jackson_ is so not that guy. My advice, which is pretty rich coming from someone who’s never dated before, is to dump him and find someone who will actually love you and be someone that you can count on no matter what. You’re so incredibly smart and Jackson’s just holding you back. You should just leave him in the dust and make him mourn his stupidity. Then again, this is Jackson, he won’t even realize how incredibly _stupid_ he is.”

Lydia gives a small huff of laughter and wipes at her eyes as she pulls away to look at him.

“What are you doing up here Stiles? You should be down there dancing. You looked pretty into it a while ago.”

Stiles sucked in a breath and checked the clock again. Ten thirty-four. “Shit! I forgot! I have to be home before eleven otherwise Derek is going to kill me!”

Lydia moves with him as he gets off the bed and stands there looking slightly amused despite the make-up streaks still on her face as he frantically searches her room for his clothes.

“Where the hell are my clothes?! Lydia, I need to go right now!”

“You’ll get your clothes back on Monday. Now, you should get going before you’re late.” She shoos him.

“Lydia, I’m sorry about Jackson, I really am, but I can _not_ go home looking like this! It’s humiliating and I _really_ don’t want him to be disgusted by me as well. Just, please, give me back my clothes.”

“They say the greatest reward comes to those who take the biggest risk. You’re _not_ getting your clothes back Stilinski so I suggest hightailing it out of here before you’re late.”

Stiles glares hard at her before glancing once more around the room to no avail. “I hate you so much right now. You’re beautiful and smart but you’re so evil.”

“And don’t you forget it. Don’t worry about telling Scott you’ve left, I’ll let him know. Bye-bye.”

Stiles groans angrily before rushing out of the room, down the stairs, and out the front door to his Jeep parked in the driveway alongside Scott’s car. Quickly he backs out and drives carefully down the streets, his anger fading away the farther he gets from the party, his worry taking its place. Stiles keeps his hands tightly on the wheel and his eyes fixed firmly on the road and pushes all thoughts from his head and simply focuses on driving.

He doesn’t start worrying again until he’s pulled into the driveway and it’s 11:03, three minutes past his curfew.

“Fuck.” He curses and quickly clambers out of the Jeep and closes his door quietly.

Tiptoeing he makes his way to the front door, staring at the dark windows as he fumbles with his keys to pull out the house key. There are still no lights when he clicks the lock open and slowly turns the handle and pushes the door open a bit. There’s a slight squeak as the door opens enough to let him through the doorway and another slight squeak as he pushes it gently shut and locks it behind him.

He pauses for a couple heartbeats and stares into the darkness of the house but there’s no movement so he breathes a sigh of relief and he starts towards his room. A hand shoots out as he passes the couch and he lets out a startled scream and tugs on his arm that is in the vice-like grip. The light clicks on next to the couch and Derek’s furious face is illuminated, making Stiles’ heart beat impossibly harder.

“What the _hell_ Derek?! You can’t just do that! You scared the shit out of me! Why would you do that?! You could have turned on the light when I came in, or even _before_ I came in instead of sitting here in the darkness like a creeper!” Stiles shouts as he continues to yank on his captive arm.

“You’re late. And what the hell are you wearing?” Derek growls, his eyes raking over Stiles’ costume.

Stiles stops tugging and self-consciously tugs the short shirt down, trying to cover his stocking-clad thighs. A hot blush lights up his face and he stammers a bit.

“Uh, well, I…this is a costume. The girls thought it’d be funny to dress me like this since I accidentally might have suggested that I used to clean your house and that you’re…uh, Erica said that…um… Can you just let me go?” Stiles finally squeaked, horrified at how horribly this conversation was going.

“You let your female friends dress you up like this because you worked as my housekeeper for a time?”

“Uh, yeah, kinda? I mean it was kind of a joke and it seemed funny and ironic and I mean, look at it, it’s pretty nice even if it is meant for a female. I was going to change out of it before I came home but my clothes were…missing. I…uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with this, you weren’t supposed to see it.”

“Isn’t it uncomfortable?” Derek asked instead of addressing the mess of words Stiles had just thrown at him.

Stiles looked down at his costume, anywhere but at Derek really, and shrugged. “Not really. Lydia did a good job at choosing the sizes. I mean, the tights are a little itchy because it’s fishnet and the strings are pretty thin so they let air in just enough to tickle and the strings themselves are so light against my skin that they also tickle but at the same time it’s almost an irritant but it’s not bad. They’re actually pretty soft.” Stiles sighed. “I am so not explaining this right. Here, just feel them.”

Stiles thrust his leg out towards Derek and patted a section of his stocking-clad leg. Derek hesitated but when Stiles moved his hand towards his leg he finally reached out and ran his big, warm hand over Stiles’ leg. _Holy hell I didn’t think this through_ , Stiles gasped in his mind as Derek’s firm hand swept over his knee and up to his mid-thigh where the stocking ended with a bow and his smooth, hairless thigh began. The brush of his fingers had desire shooting through Stiles but he dare not move.

Derek’s hand continued to wander over his leg, smoothing over his knee and down to his calf where he gripped his leg and pulled it up.

“Do these hurt your heels?”

“Uh…” Stiles said articulately as Derek continued to smooth his hand over his leg. “Y-yeah, k-kinda. I mean…it sort of has a heel that I’m n-not used to but it’s not too bad. There were worse options.”

“Did they give these to you? The entire outfit?”

“I, uh, don’t know. I mean, I’ll have to check with Lydia since she’s the one who got me pretty much everything I’m wearing. It’s not too bad and it’d be funny to wear as a prank.” Stiles gave a shaky laugh.

Derek took one of the boot’s strings and pulled it, unknotting it and loosening it until he could pull it off, letting go of Stiles’ wrist to take hold of his calf and lift it up as he tugged the shoe off. Stiles’ breath hitched as Derek laid his stocking clad foot onto his knee, hand caressing his inner knee.

“Does that feel better?”

“Y-yeah. Yes, it definitely feels better. Thanks.” He swallows roughly before saying, “B-but, now the other foot is uncomfortable.”

Derek finally looks up at him, his eyes dark but his mouth slightly upturned, almost, dare he say, seductive. Stiles shivers and switches feet when Derek gently lowers his foot to the ground and picks up the other foot, untying the laces, and gently removing it from his foot, his hands gliding over his legs up and down once it’s off and on the floor.

 “You should probably go and wash all that make-up off your face.” Derek said, releasing his leg from his grasp.

Stiles scoffs and stares down at him in anger and frustration. He doesn’t move an inch even though Derek is looking at him with expectant eyes. Stiles opens his mouth but quickly shuts it. If Derek was going to play that game _again_ Stiles was absolutely _not_ going to play along with it. They’ve known each other for months now and the unresolved sexual tension that sang through the air whenever they were together was nerve wracking and Stiles was absolutely not tolerating it anymore.

“You’re an ass.” Stiles grits out and leans forward towards Derek.

Derek’s face darkens. “You’re stubborn.”

“With good reason to be! Why the hell would you…” Stiles cuts off, too frustrated and nervous to get the words out correctly.

Blowing an angry breath out through his nose Stiles grabs Derek by the shoulders and leans forward, pulling his legs up on either side of Derek’s lap and straddles him. Derek’s hands grip Stiles wrists and pull them off of his shoulders but Stiles is already seated on his lap, hips pressed down harshly against Derek’s legs.

“Get off me Stiles. This isn’t funny.”

“Does this look like a fucking joke to you? You want me and I _know_ you know I want you back. Why the _hell_ won’t you just let this happen?” Stiles hisses out and grinds down in Derek’s lap.

Derek growls and pins Stiles’ hands to his sides, trying to stop his movements but Stiles is dexterous and wriggles too well for Derek to pin him down completely. Stiles takes his chance and ducks his head those few inches to Derek’s mouth and catches his lips in a filthy, savage kiss that was all teeth.

Derek lunges suddenly, taking Stiles’ weight and throwing it off to the side onto the couch. Stiles’ heart thuds hard in his chest in surprise and a little bit of fear. Quickly he wraps his legs around Derek’s waist and pulls him down with him, using Derek’s grip on his arms as another means to pull him close.

“Stop Stiles, you’re too young!”

“You know damn well this isn’t about my age. You think I’m pathetic, fragile. Like you’ll break me if you let yourself touch me even the smallest bit. Well fuck off Derek, I’m not made of glass and neither are you!”

“I can’t! Stiles! You don’t want me!” Derek roars in his face and Stiles thrusts his hips up hard into Derek’s, pressing his half-hard cock against his abdomen.

“You feel that? That’s me wanting you!” Stiles surges up and kisses his mouth hard, tugging on Derek’s bottom lip before flopping back down against the couch cushions. “You feel that? That’s still me wanting you. I don’t just want you for your body Derek but damn does it make me hot. Now get the fuck over yourself and kiss me!” Stiles shouts.

There’s not even a pause between breaths before Derek is kissing him hard, his hands gripping his wrists so hard that they hurt. Stiles grunts but enthusiastically kisses back, legs gripping Derek’s waist to pull his hips up and against Derek’s body, trying to get some friction on his cock that’s filling fast. Derek makes a quiet growl against Stiles’ mouth and moves his arms until they’re both above Stiles’ head and grips both his wrists in one strong hand.

Stiles moves his head to the side to breathe for a second but Derek doesn’t stop kissing, trails his lips over Stiles’ cheek, his chin, and down to his neck where he sucks harsh bruises into the soft, sensitive skin there.

“Fuck! Derek!” Stiles cries, his dick jumping in his underwear and presses his hips up harder against Derek’s body.

Derek’s free hand trails down Stiles’ side, gripping at the curve below his ribcage before sliding his hand down over Stiles’ waist and up his leg where it’s hitched over his hip. For a second Stiles panics, thinking he’s going to try and pry him off and he grips tighter but then Derek’s hand grips his thigh and pulls it higher over his waist. Stiles groans, chest heaving as he pants in pleasure and grinds against Derek, seeking his own pleasure.

“Stiles, you drive me crazy.”

“Hello pot, kettle.” Stiles gasps.

Derek’s hand wanders from his thigh up again and under the skirt, pushing his fingers against the elastic band of the panties against the swell of Stiles’ ass and Stiles jerks before groaning loudly, muscles starting to tremble as he keeps his hips lifted off the couch cushion and his legs around Derek. Derek’s hot breath against his neck makes Stiles shiver and the occasional nip and suck has him groaning.

“Please! Please, Derek, I need _something_. It’s starting to hurt.” Stiles pleaded.

“Stiles.” Derek rumbles against his neck as if in warning and Stiles gives him an exasperated whine. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I swear to whatever is out there that if you do not fucking finish this I am going to be beyond pissed and will come up with an appropriate and cunning consequence when I’m able to think straight.” Stiles threatens. “Now fucking touch me!”

Derek snarls, there’s no other word for it, and wrenches himself up into a kneeling position between Stiles’ legs and lets go of his hands. Stiles promptly grabs his shoulders but they’re swatted away and he takes the hint to keep his grabby hands to himself as Derek uses his other hand and grasps the band of his underwear. There’s a loud tearing noise and Stiles gasps as his rock hard cock is finally freed from the underwear that are now in tatters and are thrown off to the side.

“Those were nice. You didn’t have to rip them. They’re not even mine!”

“Shut up Stiles.” Derek growls and the command in his voice is so prominent that Stiles immediately shuts his mouth, arousal pouring through him and making him writhe.

Stiles grabs one of the couch pillows and stuffs it behind his head so he can see what Derek’s doing without straining his neck and groans as he watches Derek unbutton, unzip, and push down the front of his jeans. There’s an incredible length pushing at the confines of his underwear and Stiles can’t swallow the high pitched keen that makes it out of his mouth. Derek’s eyes are locked on him and the intensity of them has Stiles writhing in his lap.

Finally, he pushes the elastic of his boxers down over his dick and Stiles’ mouth waters immediately and his cock lets out another rush of precum. Derek’s nostrils flare and his eyes dart down to Stiles’ cock and finally, _finally_ , he wraps a firm hand around Stiles’ dick and Stiles can’t hold back the loud groan and buck of his hips as his dick is finally touched by someone other than himself.

There’s a whispered, “ _fuck_ ,” and Stiles doesn’t know who it comes from but he completely agrees. The hand on him is so perfect, hot and strong, dominant in every way as it handles him expertly. Derek shifts and Stiles opens his eyes again, not realizing he’d shut them in the first place, and sees Derek line up his cock against Stiles and there’s no holding back the litany of curses and breathless moans as Derek starts pumping them together.

“Derek! Derek, Derek, feels…” Stiles breaks off into another moan and the fist around them starts moving fast, just this side of painful in its dry slide.

Stiles’ hips start punching up into Derek’s grip and Derek sets one hand on Stiles’ hip to steady him as he leans over farther, attaching his mouth to Stiles’ collarbone and that last suck, the sharp nip of Derek’s teeth has Stiles crying out loudly and spilling into Derek’s fist. The cum immediately slicks the slide between the two cocks and Derek grunts as his hand speeds up. It’s just starting to get uncomfortably painful with his oversensitivity when Derek stills and cums, body clenching and arching over Stiles’ prone body. Stiles’ feels the burning hot liquid spill over his dick and some lands on the skin around his pelvis and if he could he’d cum again from the absolutely beautiful look of bliss on Derek’s slack face.

They stay like that for several long, lovely minutes before Stiles grimaces at the gross feeling of cum growing tacky and drying out on his skin. Gently he rests a hand on Derek’s shoulder and wriggles a little until he’s face to face with Derek and leans up to give him a chaste kiss on his soft lips.

“That was the most amazing thing to ever happen to me.” Stiles confesses breathily before pecking him one more time. “Now we have to clean up.” He groans.

Derek lifts himself up off of Stiles without a word and tucks himself back into his pants, careless about his cum covered hand. Stiles gets up slower, still a little weak from his mind-blowing orgasm.

“I…uh, you should shower.”

Stiles stares at Derek like he’d just said that sentence in Chinese before shaking his head.

“That is so not going to fly anymore. No more avoidance. This is happening here and now and it’s going to keep happening because I have fallen for you so hard and you are a masochistic bitch who needs to stop torturing himself. Now get your ass into my bathroom.” Stiles commands boldly.

Derek just stands there and stares at him with slightly surprised eyes before sighing and shaking his head. Stiles swears he can see the faintest traces of a smile and happily scoops up the ruined underwear and follows after Derek as he does as he’s told.


	24. Chapter 24

Stiles wakes up the next morning to his cell phone ringing nonstop next to his head. Turning over he accidentally smacks something warm and firm next to him and he freezes, pressing his hand against it before remember everything that happened the night before. Oh yeah. A bubble of happiness and a bit of nervousness swells within him and he squirms happily in place before remembering that his phone was the thing making that _obnoxious noise_ and he doesn’t want to wake Derek who is in fact sleeping next to him in his bed.

Quickly he grabs the phone and jams the end button without even looking at who was calling. Later he’d apologize to whoever it was but at the moment all he could think about was the fact that he was sharing his bed, his _small_ bed, with an incredibly hot dude while only half dressed. The bed shifts and Stiles turns back over to see Derek’s face only inches from his and his eyes are open and staring at him although he looks deliciously sleep rumpled.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know who that was. You can go back to sleep if you want.” Stiles apologized with a muffled yawn.

Derek didn’t say anything and instead circled Stiles with his arms and pulled him in. Stiles’ stomach clenched with excitement and happiness and that nervous bubble, although not gone, was pushed down by the good emotions. Stiles threw an arm around Derek’s middle and tucked his head underneath Derek’s chin and sighed in happiness.

They lay like that for a long while, just basking in the morning warmth and happy glow between them. The sun was bright behind the closed blinds and cast the room in a healthy orange and Stiles traced the lines of Derek’s back with his fingers, not pushing for more than a simple touch in the easy going morning. It scared him when suddenly Derek jerked up right, pulling Stiles with him, his head cocked towards the door.

“Someone’s coming, get dressed.” Derek said quickly and Stiles barely managed to get his arms unwrapped before Derek was up and out of bed and at the door.

“Uh, ok. How do you know someone’s coming? I don’t hear anything?”

Derek didn’t look at him as he pulled open the door. “I’m used to the noises the gravel makes on my driveway.” Is all he said before darting out the door.

Stiles felt a rush of cold on his skin where he’d been pressed against the warmth of Derek but quickly did what he’d been asked to do and rummaged through his clothes before pulling something clean on. By the time his shirt was over his head he could also hear the grate of tires on gravel pulling up to the house. Derek must have really good hearing if he’d heard them so long before him.

Quickly he darted out of his room to meet Derek in the living room and anxiously waited for whoever was pulling up to get to the door. Derek didn’t wait for them to walk up to the door and yanked it open just as a car door slammed. Stiles could tell instantly that this wasn’t a social visit when Peter’s stern face came into view.

“What’s happened?” Derek asks and Stiles feels cold all over.

Slowly he starts backing away from Peter’s solemn approach, shaking his head as panic starts edging at his chest.

“No, no, stop. Don’t look like that. Derek, don’t ask that question. Nothing’s wrong, there _can’t_ be anything wrong.” Stiles protests.

Derek quickly turns away from Peter as soon as the door is closed behind him and reaches out to Stiles, gathering him close before sitting them both down onto the couch.

“Whatever he has to say you need to listen.”

Stiles’ heart thuds painfully in his chest as he stares at Peter with wide, scared eyes. Peter looks sympathetic and Stiles can’t help but feel a sharp bitterness even before he starts talking. Peter takes a seat in the recliner facing them with a dour face.

“Stiles, I need you to listen carefully and understand exactly what I’m telling you, ok? Can you do that? I don’t want you misunderstanding anything.”

Stiles starts shaking where he’s pressed against Derek’s side and it takes him a couple seconds to nod his head.

“When your father was admitted to us he’d been under a medicated coma so that his body would heal properly without the stress of pain on the mind that could hinder progress. He’d been getting better, his body was healing fine, but it was his mind that I was the most worried about.” Peter pauses for a second to let that sink in and Stiles quickly nods his head, terrified but needing to know what was happening. “Once it seemed that your father’s body had healed enough for him to endure it awake I slowly took him off of the medication keeping him under, but he didn’t wake up. The coma he’s in is no longer medicated. There’s nothing we can do now except hope that he’ll somehow start healing on his own.”

Stiles feels himself stop breathing, staring at Peter with horror. The blood is rushing through his ears and he feels cold all over even though he’s pressed against Derek’s warm side. His hands turn clammy and his stomach turns violently while his eyes become unfocused. Something starts shaking him and there’s a noise in his ear, a faint, deep buzzing.

“…iles breathe!”

A hand hits him hard on the back as two other hands push his knees to his chest and suddenly he’s gulping air and sobbing, clutching at his legs.

“Stiles, breathe. That’s it, slowly, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Again.”

Firm hands stay pressed against his back and Peter keeps telling him to breathe as he chokes on his tears.

“My…dad.” He chokes out.

“Technically he’s ok. He’s stable at the moment, he’s just in a coma.”

“There are risks to comas that aren’t medically induced.” Stiles gasps, wrenching his head up to stare at Peter with wide eyes as tears pour down his face. “Comas damage the brain and it deteriorates over time. He’s going to die.”

Derek’s hand is firm on his back and there’s a distressed sound coming from him that sounds half like a whine and half like a growl.

“There’s a very real possibility that that will happen, yes, but at the moment he’s stable. I have my best staff looking after him around the clock. There’s still a very real chance that he’ll wake up.”

Stiles sobs. “No there’s not. He’s been under too long. He’s going to be in a coma forever, depending on life support.”

Peter’s face tightens in sadness and regret and Stiles knows that he’s right.

“There was so much damage.” Stiles weeps. “ _Too_ much damage.”

“Derek, let’s get him to Talia’s, she’ll know what to do.” Peter says gently to Derek who nods beside him.

The next hour is a blur to Stiles. There’s movement and words but nothing really makes sense. Derek and Peter walk quickly around the house doing something but he can’t bring himself to care. His father was dying. He was going to be alone. An orphan.

Someone pulls him up from his spot on the couch and he goes easily. He’s blinded briefly by the sun but then he’s sitting again and a strong arms is buckling him to his seat and the door slams. There’s more movement around him before they’re moving. The drive to Talia’s is silent, Derek’s arm is wrapped around his shoulder he registers, but it’s not as comforting as he wished it was.

When they finally stop moving he’s unbuckled and pulled from the vehicle and walked slowly to the Hale house and can’t even appreciate the warmth or sweet smell that envelops him as he steps inside and is guided through the big house to a more secluded room with plush couches. He’s settled down onto a soft cushion but he stares at his fingers lying limp in his hand and doesn’t look up until there’s a dip in the seat next to him and strong, soft arms wrap him up in a hug and then he’s crying all over again, burying his face in Talia Hales shoulder. He’s pulled into her lap as if he weighed no more than a plush doll and is completely enveloped in her comforting grasp.

Stiles cries long and deep, not caring how much of a child he seemed at the moment. His dad was going to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it. The crushing weight on his heart had him desperately grasping at Mrs. Hale, trying to bury himself and she simply hugged him tighter.

They stayed like that for a long time. Stiles had no way of knowing if she rocked him for only a few minutes or for long hours. Slowly his tears ran dry and he was left with breathless sobs. Talia was humming gently, her chest pressed against his ear, and the sound soothed him, quieting his wounded shudders. Stiles kept his tight grip on her soft sleeve but finally quieted, his breath coming gentler now. Talia didn’t say anything for long minutes and for that Stiles was grateful, it gave him time to settle and try not to feel too embarrassed at his behavior.

As he opened his mouth Talia gently shushed him and instead started talking. “Stiles, you don’t have to say anything, I know everything. I know you’re hurting and you feel lost but I need to tell you something very important. I want you to calm down, alright?”

Stiles took a deep breath and slowly let it out before nodding. Talia loosened her arms leaned back enough for them to be able to look at each other. Quickly Talia leaned over the side of the couch and grabbed a tissue and handed it to him with a gentle look. Stiles grabbed it and wiped away the tears and snot. Slowly he shuffled back until he was simply sitting next to her and not on her lap so he could look at her properly without feeling like a big baby.

“Sorry.” He muttered.

Talia shook her head and ran her hand over his head in a gentle reassuring caress.

“You have nothing to be sorry about. I have been keeping a close eye on your father and you and I want to offer you something. If I had a choice I wouldn’t tell you when you’re so emotionally distressed but time is crucial right now. Your father’s brain is deteriorating and I need your permission to help him before the damage is too much, do you understand what I’m telling you?”

Stiles stares at her with a frown, completely confused. “I don’t understand. Peter said there was nothing they could do.”

Talia nodded and shifted a bit more until they were facing each other on the couch, their knees resting gently against each other.

“There’s nothing Peter or his doctors can do to save your father. But, there _is_ something _I_ can do to save your father. I was already contemplating on telling you but I needed to make sure that you were ready and wouldn’t take this as a joke. Seeing how serious this is I _need_ you to listen with an open mind, can you do that Stiles?”

Confusion wrapped around his mind and muffling the pain Stiles could only nod. Talia stared at him with intense, serious eyes, her lips drawn together tightly as she studied him closely before finally giving one nod. Stiles stared back at her with confusion and worry until his eyes stared solely into her eyes and he gasped. Talia’s eyes, her deep brown almost black eyes, had turned to a deep, blood red. Stiles drew his head back as he stared and Talia simply sat there, waiting for him to grasp the situation at hand. Slowly Stiles leaned back in, feeling shockingly calm about it.

“Your eyes are red.” He said simply.

Talia slowly nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Are they real?” he asked then felt stupid since, duh, of course they were real. How could they not be real? She didn’t just turn around and stick contacts into her eyes in the two seconds he’d looked away from her eyes. It was… “Impossible.”

Talia nodded once before shaking her head. “They’re real. Do you understand?”

Stiles slowly shook his head before stilling. “Are you human? Is _Derek_ human? You’re showing me this for a reason and it has to do with my dad. Does this mean you could save him?”

The hope was a bright, sudden, _painful_ jab in his chest as his mind tried to grasp what he was being told. Quickly he grasped her hand and held tightly.

“Can you help my father?” he asked, breath coming faster.

“Stiles, calm down. You can’t get yourself too worked up. I don’t want you afraid.”

Stiles startled a bit, the possibility of fear hadn’t even occurred to him. “I’m not scared. Should I be?”

Talia shook his head. “I’m not going to harm you and neither is anyone else in this household. You’re safe.”

Stiles nodded. “I don’t feel scared at all except, you know, the possibility that my father is going to die but mostly I feel…hope?” he cringed, feeling a little stupid.

Talia’s face broke into a gentle grin and she patted his hand on top of hers. “Good. I’m only offering help but I have to warn you, if I save your father, and there’s still a chance that it won’t work, he’ll be different. Do you understand?”

Stiles started to nod but paused and shook his head. “I don’t understand because I don’t know what you _are_. If you’re not human then what are you? Is your whole family like you? Will my dad be like you?”

Talia nodded. “My family is from a long line of werewolves. Most of them are werewolves but there are quite a few humans too. If I give your father the bite then he’ll either become a werewolf like us or he’ll die. The bite doesn’t always turn everyone.”

Stiles silently stares at Talia, breathing slowly as he tries to process everything. Talia is looking at him with gentle concern and Stiles can feel the truth in what she said. Maybe it was the fact that he’d just been told his father was dying and was incredibly desperate for it not to be true but he really wasn’t freaking out about this. For a second he felt like maybe his mind was playing tricks on him and he stared at the deep, glowing red of Talia’s eyes but they quickly changed back to brown and he knew there was no way he’d imagined that.

“Do you think there’s a chance he’ll survive?” he asked quietly, scared to hope.

Talia nodded. “From what I’ve heard about him he’s a strong, good man. I’d say he has a good chance but I don’t want to raise your hope in case his body rejects the bite. Stiles, if I do this he will become a werewolf. Can you live with that?” she reiterates seriously.

Stiles nods firmly. “As long as he’s alive then you can do whatever it takes. I can’t live without him.” His voice cracks and he feels the sting of tears again.

Talia studies him closely for a few more seconds before her face gentles into a loving smile. “I’ll do everything I can for him. Do you want to see him before I turn him?”

Stiles pauses, torn between wanting to and not. Finally he draws back a bit and shakes his head.

“I can’t. I would probably lose it if I saw him now. I just… I watched my mom die in a hospital when I was eight. I can’t go through that again.”

Talia rests a gentle hand on his shoulder and gives him a comforting rub. “Whatever happens, you’ll still have us.”

Stiles nods his head and leans into her soothing touch and she pulls him back in for a hug which he gratefully accepts. He’d missed this, the feeling of a motherly touch. It made his heart ache and eyes sting at the familiarity and feeling of loss. They stayed that way for another long moment before she squeezed him once more before letting go.

“Derek is waiting anxiously for you out in the living room.”

Stiles gave her a confused look as they stood. “How do you know?”

Talia smiled mischievously. “We are werewolves, we have much better senses than humans do. I’ve been listening to him pace in the living room for the last hour.”

Stiles’ eyebrows raise dramatically before his cheeks color. “Oh. That’s…a little embarrassing actually. Wow.”

“It’s fine Stiles, we’re used to it. There’s nothing to feel embarrassed about. Now, I have some preparations to make for your father’s care so you’ll have to excuse me. Do you want Derek to come in here or would you prefer to go out there?”

Stiles rubbed a hand across his tear swollen face and grimaced. Talia gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded.

“You just rest in here, I’ll send Derek in.”

Stiles nodded. “Yeah, thanks. I kind of don’t want anyone to see me like this though.”

“You shouldn’t be alone right now, you need all the support you can get. Derek will answer any questions you have as well as keep you company so you don’t obsess over your father.” Talia darted in and gave him a gentle kiss to the forehead and Stiles relaxed. “I’m going to keep Derek updated so he can update you, alright? Don’t worry.”

Stiles nodded once more and she smiled kindly at him before opening the door and walking gracefully out. Stiles sighed and sat down on the comfy couch cushion as he waited for Derek to come in. It didn’t take long, maybe a couple minutes, but Stiles could already feel the cold absence of Talia’s warmth and kindness and it was an incredibly unsettling feeling. When Derek finally walked through the door Stiles had his arms wrapped around himself and his chest felt two sizes too small.

“Is this really happening? Can this really exist?” Stiles mutters as Derek shuts the door behind him and stands there by the door awkwardly.

“Everything my mother said was true. I know it’s difficult to take in but you have to trust her to do everything she can for your father. Actually, she was already talking with Laura about telling you about us. I guess this just took the option of time away.”

Stiles looked up with sad, scared eyes at Derek, his chest feeling tight as a battle between hope and fear raged inside him.

“Derek, I don’t know what to do. If this doesn’t work I’m going to be alone. If it _does_ work then my only family left will be different from me. I don’t know what to do.” Stiles repeated and buried his head between his knees.

Derek made no sound but the cushion suddenly dipped beside him and Derek’s strong arms embraced him and held him tight against his chest. Stiles pressed his face into Derek’s chest and slid his legs so he was lying cradled in his lap like he had with Talia. Neither of them said anything since there was no amount of reassurance that Derek could give while still being honest. Neither of them knew if everything would turn out alright or what to do in this situation but they _did_ know that everything was going to change for Stiles.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long absence, the month of February makes me really negative and I can't write very well during that time. February is the month of both Valentine's Day and my birthday and they're both awful, awful things. But, hey! At least now I'm allowed to drink. Yippidy-freaking-doo-da-day. I hate alcohol, it can go die. 
> 
> I did have a pretty cool birthday this year though. I had a piñata with 10 pounds of candy (I have SO much candy!), donuts instead of a cake, and tons of soda! It was Avengers themed. Ah yeah, be jealous.

They didn’t talk for hours, simply sat there watching the shadows elongate across the floor as the sun moved through the sky. Stiles dozed against Derek every now and again and thankfully Derek didn’t say anything when more than once he’d woken to find himself drooling on Derek’s chest. It wasn’t until the sun was casting orange light and dark shadows in the early evening that Derek’s phone finally rang.

Stiles startled upright in an instant, heart beating painfully in his chest as he stared at Derek’s phone with a horrid combination terror and hope. Derek kept his eyes glued to Stiles as he answered the phone. Stiles held his breath as Derek said hello and was silent for a few seconds before pulling the phone away from his ear and putting it on speaker.

_“Stiles?”_

Stiles completely froze, his fidgeting fingers and restless leg went completely still. His heart was the only thing that indicated he was alive.

_“Stiles? You there?”_

Stiles took a big breath, gasping. “D-dad? Dad?!” Stiles sobbed and grabbed the phone, covering his mouth as he heaved in air noisily. “Dad? You…you’re. Dad!”

Stiles simply let go, crying brokenly with the phone held tightly in his hand next to his face.

_“Stiles, son, I’m ok. I’m ok.”_

Stiles couldn’t speak, he was crying too hard, so Derek took the phone back and pulled Stiles into his lap to hold him to his chest. Stiles sobbed into his chest, gripping his shirt tightly to keep from falling completely and utterly apart. His father was alive and awake. He was going to be ok. Stiles wasn’t going to be alone anymore.

“Dad!” Stiles sniffled and Derek put the phone closer to him. “I need to see you. I need to see you right now.” He managed to gasp between each hiccupping breath.

_“I’m on my way right now. Talia and Peter Hale are bringing me to see you. I’ll be there very soon. Just breathe son, breathe slowly. In and out, nice and slow.”_

Stiles hiccupped his way through his breathing exercises he used for whenever he had a panic attack and Derek continued to simply hold him and rub a soothing hand over his back. Stiles refused to let his father hang up, needing to hear his voice to believe this wasn’t all a dream. So for the next hour Derek continued to calm Stiles, murmuring gently in his ear words that Stiles couldn’t remember as his focus was solely on the phone held tightly in Derek’s hand. The only thing that made him move was his father saying, _“I’m here son, I’m pulling up right now,”_ and he was off, racing through the house despite his cry-swollen appearance.

Stiles ran through the house, not noticing the entire Hale family gathered in the living room, and ripped open the door. The headlights of the car blinded him briefly before they turned off but he didn’t care, stumbling towards it like his life depended on it. Derek was right beside him with a steadying hand and suddenly there he was, his father, whole and healthy, stepping out of the car, and everything else ceased to exist.

“Stiles.” His father managed to say his name before Stiles ran into him, arms winding tightly around his new, werewolf body.

“Dad.” Stiles sobbed, burying his face in his father’s borrowed shirt. “Dad, daddy.”

Stiles once again dissolved into tears and his father held him up with supernatural strength when Stiles’ legs shook with the force of his tears. No one interrupted them and for that Stiles was eternally grateful. He’d be embarrassed about how hard he was crying and by his appearance later but right now the only thing he could do was cling to his father.

Finally, after standing there for at least twenty minutes Papa Stilinski gently patted Stiles’ back and tugged him away to look at him. Stiles was smiling widely even though tears were still streaking down his cheeks and Papa Stilinski couldn’t help but smile at the wonderful sight of his son.

“I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too dad. You have no idea how much.”

Papa Stilinski smiled and Stiles pulled him back into a tight embrace. This time Stiles pulled back after only a few minutes and began wiping his face off as his cheeks reddened even further with embarrassment.

“Sorry about the snot and tears. This is probably not what you wanted to see first thing after waking up.”

His father’s fingers were there, helping wipe off tears and holding his face so he’d look at him. “Stiles, you were the _only_ thing I wanted to see when I woke up. Seeing you now…I thought I’d never…” Papa Stilinski’s eyes misted over and he pulled Stiles back in. “Oh Stiles. I love you son, no matter what you look like.”

“I love you too dad. Even if you are a werewolf, I’m just glad I have you back. I thought I’d never see you again. I mean, I thought I’d never get to hear your voice, or see your eyes, or swat me on the back of the head when I say something stupid, or walk with me to the cemetery to see mom… I thought I’d be burying you next to mom. I thought I’d have to get two sets of flowers and have to talk to the both of your headstones and go home to an empty house…” Stiles stopped, pain and sorrow clouding his chest as he thought about it.

“Stiles, Stiles, calm down. That’s never going to happen. Now that I’m a…werewolf… I’ll never get sick and I’ll heal from pretty much any injury and you won’t have to worry about my healthy eating ever again. I’ll finally be able to eat steaks and hamburgers and fries.”

Stiles laughed, wiping his face once more. “You’re just happy to be able to eat unhealthily, seeing me was only a bonus.”

Papa Stilinski smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his son’s head. “I’m going to be around for a _long_ time son. So long that you’ll eventually get sick of me.”

Stiles shook his head and smiled. “Never.”

Papa Stilinski ran his hand over his son’s fuzzy head and Stiles reveled in the warmth and comfort of his hand. When someone cleared their throat from behind him he startled, embarrassed that he’d completely forgotten they were in the company of other people. Peter was watching them with calm, warm eyes while Talia was smiling widely at them. Derek had politely turned to the side so he wasn’t staring at them but there was a small smile on his face too.

“Sorry to interrupt your reunion but there are many things to discuss and it would probably be better to take that conversation into the privacy of our home. The pack has gathered for this occasion and everyone is waiting to meet you Mr. Stilinski.” Peter said kindly.

“My husband is preparing dinner for us so we can all get comfortable before we start this discussion.” Talia smiled warmly at the both of them before turning back towards the house where several pack members were waiting politely by the front door.

Derek turned away from them to follow his mother but Stiles gently pinched the elbow of his leather jacket. Stiles gave him a sheepish look before looking up at his father who was looking at them both curiously but still gave his son a gentle smile before raising an eyebrow at Derek who had stopped and gripped Stiles’ hand in return. Yeah, there were _definitely_ some words to be had.

~

The large living room was filled with the Hale family. _All_ of the Hale family. Little cubs were playing in the middle of the plush carpet in front of all the couches. Papa Stilinski, Stiles, and Derek sat on the couch to the right of the one directly in the middle where Talia and her husband sat since they were Alpha and Alpha Mate. The coffee tables in front of them were all filled with delicious foods and the sight of them reminded Stiles that he hadn’t eaten all day. He didn’t have much of an appetite though thanks to all the commotion. The other family members were happily munching away but he, his father, and Derek hadn’t touched the food.

“Alright, settle down.” Talia commanded lightly and immediately the quiet chatter and playing children stopped and looked to their Alpha. “As you all know Stiles Stilinski has been living with Derek for the past few months due to the circumstances of his father’s health. After being poorly mistreated by their previous hospital Mr. John Stilinski had been transferred to our hospital and was being taken care of by Peter. This morning his condition had taken a turn for the worse and without our intervention he would have perished.”

There was tittering amongst the family members briefly before they settled down once again. Talia continued after it was silent once more.

“With Stiles’ permission and careful deliberation I decided to give him the Bite. Because time was of the essence I was unable to ask you all for your opinion and permission to add Mister Johnathan Stilinski to our pack. So now I am giving you all a say in whether or not to allow him and his son to stay within our pack.”

Immediately Derek shot to his feet. “We can _not_ kick them out. They have no means to live by! Mr. Stilinski was fired from his job as the Sheriff after not waking up from his coma and Stiles is still in high school. They won’t be able to pay for their house and with Mr. Stilinski being a newly turned wolf he won’t know how to control himself during the full moon.”

“Derek Hale, **sit down**.” Talia ordered and immediately Derek’s knees buckled and he landed on the couch next to Stiles once more.

Stiles stared at Talia in surprise before grabbing Derek’s hand. “Derek, it’s ok. Even if your family decides they don’t want to keep us we’ll get by. Don’t go against your mother just for us. She’s both your mother _and_ your Alpha, no sense in making a mess of things.”

Derek’s face scrunched up in what looked like pain as he said, “Stiles…”

But Stiles shook his head and squeezed his hand and Derek cut himself off before letting his face smooth back into his usual blank mask. Stiles hated seeing that mask but at the moment it was necessary.

When he looked back towards the family they were all watching the exchange with a mixture of faces, some with interest, some with suspicion, and some (Talia, Peter, and Laura) with small smiles.

“Now, every member counts as one vote, even the children. If we decide to keep them then there are many steps we’ll have to take to train Mr. Stilinski to keep control in any situation as well as teach Stiles about our history and the importance of our secrecy. We’ll need to keep a close eye on them during their everyday life to make sure that their environments are safe for them. We’ll also have to take into consideration that there are hunters once again in our territory and a new wolf might cause some trouble.”

There were whispers as soon as Talia cut off and Stiles felt cold as he watched the expressions on some family member’s faces turn from interest to suspicion and from suspicion to distrust. Stiles turned back towards Talia.

“And if you decide not to keep us?” he asks quietly.

The chatter cut off immediately and Talia nodded. “If we decide not to keep you then we’ll have to inform the hunters of your existence so they can keep an eye on you instead of us. You’ll also be asked to move from our territory so that if something does go wrong and Mr. Stilinski can’t control himself as an omega there won’t be any damage done to our family. Other packs will be warned of your existence so some may want to add you to their packs or some will want to kill you, but that decision is up to that pack’s Alpha. It would mean safety for my pack but your lives will most likely be filled with danger, but at least you’ll be together.” Talia finished with a hint of sadness in her voice.

There was a tight, panicky feeling in Stiles’ chest. “Would you take my dad if I weren’t here?” There was a change in the pack’s faces as they considered this.

There were whispers of, _“That’ll make things easier.” “Can’t trust him.” “He’ll be alone though.”_ Stiles clutched both his father’s hand and Derek’s hand tightly as he began preparing himself for the worst. At least his dad will finally have a family again. He won’t have to worry about money or a place to live or a job to keep. He might even meet a nice werewolf lady and live long and happy lives together. His dad deserved that.

“I’ll go. I’ll leave so that you’ll take my dad.” Stiles choked out, his voice cracking on the last few words as he stood slowly.

Talia frowned and Laura stood, Peter at her side in an instant. His father was on his feet, growling at his side protectively.

“If Stiles goes, then I’ll go too.”

“No dad.” Stiles tried to make his voice strong. “You’ll finally have a family. You won’t have to worry about there being no one there when you come home. You might even find someone and you’ll be able live happily with her.”

“Excuse me, Stiles, John, but this isn’t up for the two of you to decide.” Talia finally spoke up and everyone looked back towards her and Stiles, John, Peter, and Laura took their seats once more. “Let’s cast our votes now. Timothy please tally every vote.” Timothy nodded and reached over to a side table to grab paper and a pen. “Now, all those in favor of keeping the Stilinskis raise your hand and wait to be counted.”

Hands shot up all over the room and almost all of the children were holding their hands raised high except for those who were too young to understand. Timothy counted them quickly and wrote down the number before nodding to his mother.

“All those in favor of dismissing the Stilinskis raise your hand and wait to be counted.”

Hands shot up once more but Stiles felt like there was less this time and hope was blossoming in his chest. He stared hard at Timothy as he counted, trying to guess how many there were since he counted too fast for Stiles to keep track of but he was done before Stiles could even try to figure out the numbers.

Derek relaxed next to him as did his father and he looked up to see a smile on both their faces as they looked towards Talia. She had a wide smile as she stood and looked at Stiles and his father.

“Welcome to the Hale pack John, Stiles.”

Stiles smiled widely as relief and happiness flooded through him. Quickly he turned to his father and hugged him tight before turning to Derek and smiled so widely it hurt his cheeks.

“This is the best day of my life.”

Derek gave him a gentle, happy smile and Stiles’ heart simply melted. They stared at each other for a while longer, long enough for Stiles to recognize the hungry expression taking over Derek’s face. Stiles’ body immediately reacted, his heart racing a little faster, his face flushing a little redder as he remembered that look from last night. For a second he thought that maybe Derek would act on that look but then there was a hand on his arm and Derek’s face cleared as he looked at Papa Stilinski.

“Derek, I understand that you’ve done a lot for me and my son and I’m really grateful but we’re going to need to have a talk.” Papa Stilinski said with a hard, serious tone.

Derek opened his mouth to reply at the same time that Stiles did but they were both interrupted by Talia’s intervention.

“Mr. Stilinski, before you have that talk with him I’ll need to have a talk with you. Do you mind stepping away with me for a minute?”

Stiles watched as the family dispersed as soon as Talia had removed his father from the room and he and Derek eventually ended up being the only ones remaining in the room.

“What’s she talking to him about?”

Derek shook his head. “I don’t know. She went into the soundproof room.”

“You guys have a soundproof room? Just one or are there others?”

“There are three in this house, one for every floor.”

“But this is a two story mansion.”

“We have a basement.”

“Oh, ok. Why are there only three then? Wouldn’t it just be easier to have all the rooms soundproofed?”

Derek frowned a bit as he explained. “Those three rooms are heat rooms and need to be soundproofed for the other werewolves in the house. The rest of the rooms can’t be soundproofed since we’re a family of werewolves and there are hunters who hunt our kind. There’s a group of hunters in town who have been specifically hunting our family for generations and we need to be able to respond immediately if something happens. That’s why the rest of the rooms aren’t soundproofed.”

Stiles is quiet for a second as he digests this information. “So, you’re telling me that werewolves have _heats_? Like actual, wolf-like heats where they’re horny all the time and want to have sex with everyone?”

Derek’s face scrunches a bit at the crude description but gives a short, sharp nod. “In a way, yes. We aren’t like wolves though, we’re not animals.”

“No! No, no, I know. That wasn’t what I meant, I know you’re not animals, I just mean that it was surprising to know that you have heats too, I thought that was…a myth or whatever.” Stiles cringes at his bad explanation but Derek just nods.

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about us but now that you’re part of the pack you’ll be educated on the history and workings of a werewolf and its pack. You’ll also be told about all the other supernatural creatures out there besides werewolves.”

“There are more?!” Stiles asks incredulously. “Are there vampires?! Do vampire exists? ‘Cause if they do that’d be so wicked awesome!”

Derek huffs a laugh. “Was that even a sentence?”

Stiles shoves at him, feeling light and playful now that all that weight that’d been weighing on him was lifted he felt freer and happier than he’d felt in a very long time.

“When do you go into heat?”

Derek looks uncomfortable at the question and shifts a little. Stiles immediately backtracks, shaking his hands in the air.

“No, nevermind, it’s alright, I don’t need to know. That was a totally personal question that I don’t need an answer to. Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine. I… It’s complicated. Heats are really private and embarrassing is all.”

Stiles nodded his head jerkily. “I totally understand, nothing else needs to be said.” He pauses for a second. “Do you have a heat room at your house?”

Derek rolls his eyes but nods. “I have to. Everything is too overwhelming for a werewolf in heat so the enclosed, soundproofed, sealed room helps make each heat manageable.”

“So where is it? I haven’t seen it before and I’ve been all over your house.”

“I have a basement.”

Stiles is silent for a moment. “Oh. I did not know that. Where’s the basement located? Do you have a secret door? Like one of those hidden doors behind a bookcase or behind a fireplace with a secret lever that opens the wall?!” Stiles asks excitedly.

“That’s ridiculous and only happens in movies. It’s in the garage. If you’re so interested in it then I’ll show you when we get back home.”

“Dude, everything in the movies has to come from somewhere. Hidden doors are in a lot of real homes. Are we going back tonight? I thought that if my father was staying then we’d stay as well but it’s ok if we don’t. I just…wanted to be with my father. I haven’t spoken to him in…way too long.”

“We can stay here if you want but it’s hard for me to sleep in such a noisy place. I’ll go back tonight and you can stay here with your father. I’ll be back in the morning.”

Stiles’ eyebrows rise in concern but after a moment he nods. “Yeah, ok. I guess that would work. Would there be any way of taking my father with us?”

Derek shook his head. “Your father needs constant attention to keep him from losing control. He’ll be under the guidance of my mother so he’ll be fine, even if we’re not here. You probably won’t see him at all during the night since the moon holds strong sway over werewolves when they’re newly turned.”

Stiles nodded solemnly. “Right, the moon.” He’s silent for a beat. “Well, if I’m going to be alone in a house full of people I don’t really know then I guess it’d be better for me to go home with you and come back in the morning instead of staying here.”

Derek shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

With a nod Stiles sighed, looking anxiously towards the hall his father and Talia had disappeared down.

“They’ll be back in a moment, don’t worry.”

Stiles shook his head. “I’ve been apart from him for so long I’m scared that this is all just a really cruel dream.”

“I know what you mean.” Derek said quietly and they finally fell into companionable silence.

After another ten minutes there’s a sound down the hall and Stiles stands fast, his head dizzy but he doesn’t care as his father comes into sight, grim-faced.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

Papa Stilinski shakes his head, clearing his face with a small smile. “Nothing son. Look, it’s getting late so why don’t you and Derek head on back to his place for the night. I’ve got to…stay here for a while.”

“Oh, um, yeah. The moon and training and stuff. I gotcha.”

His dad gives him and small smile before pulling him into a tight hug. “Don’t worry son. I’ll be fine and I know you’re in good hands.” He switches his attention to Derek over his shoulder. “You…take care of my son.”

“I will.”

The gravel in Derek’s voice as he promises his father makes Stiles’ stomach flutter but he restrains himself before his father can notice his reaction. There’s the briefest tightening of his father’s arms before he lets him go and Stiles takes a step back, bumping into Derek on accident, not realizing how close he was.

“Uh, we’ll head out then. It’s been a really long, emotional day. Stiles, you need rest.”

Stiles nods, staring at his father, looking for a reason to stay despite being told to go but Talia steps forward before he can protest his leaving.

“Stiles, your father will be here in the morning. Go home and rest, Derek’ll take care of you.”

“Right. Um, yeah, ok. Dad…”

“Stiles, it’s alright. Just go with Derek.”

Stiles opens his mouth but shuts it again as he realizes there’s really no reason for him to stay here tonight. His father really is safe and he really is tired and spending a bit of time with Derek would probably do him some good…maybe.

Blowing out a breath he finally nods. “Fine. I’ll be back first thing in the morning though.”

His father smiles. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Goodnight Stiles.”

“Night dad. Stay safe. Don’t go eating innocent people and howling naked at the moon.”

“Shut up Stiles.” His father laughs and finally Stiles relaxes.

They don’t say goodbye and for that Stiles is grateful and his mind is finally at peace once Derek starts up the car and takes them home.


	26. Chapter 26

“Are you hungry?” Derek asks gently once they’re home again.

Stiles gives him a small smile. “I’m always hungry. Haven’t you learned that much about me in the past few months?”

Derek nods once and quickly stalks to the kitchen, leaving Stiles standing there in the middle of the living room looking sort of lost. Stiles listens as the fridge opens and closes followed by the sound of drawers and cabinets being opened and slammed once again. He gives a faint smile but it fades quickly, replaced with exhaustion and he flops down onto the couch.

Stiles doesn’t know what to do with the relief he’s feeling at the moment. Everything was so incredibly horrible for so long that this new feeling of freedom and relief felt almost too light, like everything was going to drop back on top of him at any second. Like everything was just in a temporary state of calm. It was terrifying.

There’s silence all around him that seems too still, like it’s waiting for him to fill it with his words but for once he’s at a loss for words. So much has happened so quickly that his mind just doesn’t want to accept any of it as real and would like the option of ignoring it if at all possible.

“Stiles, dinner is ready.” Derek calls gently from the kitchen and Stiles barely hears it, getting up on autopilot.

There are several sandwiches on the table and Derek is already eating one. All the way across the kitchen.

“What are you doing way over there? There’s a perfectly good table right here.” Stiles mumbles as he sits down in his usual seat.

“I…uh…I’m good over here.”

Stiles stares at him for long moments. “What’s wrong with you?”

Derek frowns and takes another bite of his sandwich as if to completely avoid talking altogether. Stiles can’t tell at all what he’s thinking.

“You know Derek, I don’t know what the fuck just happened today and I thought that coming home would allow me to relax and at least try and take it all in like a sane person but here we are, home, and you’re acting like a fucking weirdo. Just…come sit down. Please.” Stiles pleads, his anger fizzling out quickly into exhaustion.

Stiles watches Derek’s face pinch before finally releasing some of its tension and he slumps a little as he slowly crosses the kitchen to the table, sitting down in his usual spot across from Stiles.

“Thank you.” Stiles mumbles and picks up a meat sandwich and starts nibbling away at it.

They eat in silence for a little while until Derek surprisingly starts talking first.

“Are you… You’re not scared of me? Of us? We’re _werewolves_.”

“Yeah, I got that with the weird eye thingy and the conversations and healing of my father. Compared to you guys being werewolves I feel like the things I had to live through was more terrifying. I honestly thought I was going to become homeless for the first couple of months. So, yeah, werewolves, not that scary. After all, you’ve been nothing but kind to me and my father. I don’t think I can ever repay you or your family for what you’ve done for us.”

Derek is silent for so long that Stiles finally looks up from his food to see Derek staring at him looking a combination between concern and…hurt?

“I didn’t…Stiles, I didn’t do any of this so that you’ll be indebted to me or my family. You’re my…”

Derek cuts himself off so abruptly that Stiles can only stare wide-eyed at him for many long seconds.

“I’m your what? Derek, I’m your what?” he asks gently.

Derek just shakes his head. “You’re my responsibility Stiles.”

The words feel like ice settling into his gut. 

“Just your responsibility. Nothing more? _Just_ responsibility Derek?” Stiles huffs a short, humorless laugh. “So, what? Was you getting me off your _responsibility_ Derek? Was kissing me you _responsibility_? Making me _feel_ all these things for you was just your _responsibility_?!”

“Stiles!” Derek yells, cutting off Stiles’ semi-hysteric rambling. “Stiles, you’re _sixteen_. I’m _eight years_ older than you _and_ a different species. It doesn’t matter what you feel for me or what I feel for you, you’re way too fucking young! You still have all of your high school years to fall in love with someone far more appropriate than me. You’re only feeling these things because I helped you when no one else would and because you’re a hormonal teenager. What happened yesterday _shouldn’t_ have happened and if your father ever found out he’d have me arrested for statutory rape of a minor.”

“No he wouldn’t! You saw him earlier, you heard what he said! He just wants what’s best for me and right now that’s _you_! Everybody else is fine with you except you!”

“Because I know what it’s like to feel like you’re in love with an older person when you’re sixteen Stiles! I thought I was in love when I was about your age too! You know what happened?! Hmm?! She tried to burn down my family’s house with everyone still in it!”

Stiles jerks back as if he’d been slapped, staring at Derek with wide eyes.

“Hale. The Hale case. Oh my…how did I not see that? Kate Argent, Allison’s aunt. What? But… the case files said she’d tried to burn down the house due to a fucked up love quarrel.”

Derek’s green eyes bore into Stiles’ and he couldn’t help the shudder that ran through him. “I was fifteen and a beautiful woman actually wanted to talk to me and I instantly thought I’d fallen in love. Turns out she’d been using me to get to my family, to find the best ways into the house without detection and I fell right into her trap. If Laura hadn’t forgotten her lunch at home that day then they’d all have died, all because a stupid fifteen year old boy thought he was in love.”

“Did she try to kill your family because you had a fight with her? I mean, that doesn’t make any sense, why did she do it?”

“Because we’re werewolves Stiles! The Argents are hunters! They hunt us and she was one of them and _I_ led her right into our den! You’re too young Stiles! You have no idea what love is and these stupid teenage hormones are clouding your judgment. I shouldn’t have done that with you last night, it was a huge mistake.”

Stiles slams his chair back, tipping it over and sending it crashing to the ground. Quickly he pulls his fist back and slams it into the side of Derek’s face. Obviously he wasn’t expecting it since his head snapped sideways but it was clear all it had done was make Stiles’ fist hurt. At least now he had a manly excuse for the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

“Fuck you Derek. Fuck. You. Just because some _woman_ screwed _you_ over doesn’t mean that _you_ did anything wrong. Your love wasn’t fake, you simply fell in love with the wrong person. Just because I’m a teenager in years doesn’t mean I’m not an adult. I’m more of an adult than you’re being right now. Don’t you _ever_ compare yourself with that psychotic bitch because you’re more kind and caring than anybody else I’ve ever met, and yes, you were the only one that would help us and, yes, that’s why I started falling for you, but I fell for you _because_ you’re a good person. So shut the fuck up and get over yourself.”

Stiles jerks himself away from Derek after having gotten into his surprised face to hiss his angry words at him and rights the chair and grabs a sandwich.

“I’m going to bed. As soon as you’re done giving yourself a shitty pity part come and join me.” Stiles demands and stomps off to his room leaving Derek staring after him in shock.

~

Derek sits there in shock at the dining room table for a long time, hand pressed to his cheek where Stiles had solidly clocked him. There was no bruise but he could still feel the phantom hurt from the hit and his chest stinging mildly from the ache the memories always brought with them. The Kate incident had been his fault and yet no one ever sees it that way and it saddens him and pisses him off at the same time.

He’d been the one to reveal that they were werewolves, he’d been the one to show her how to get into the house without detection, he’d been the one to show her how the locks on the doors worked and explained basically everything about his family that made it possible for her to trap them in the basement and set fire to the back corner of the house. If Laura hadn’t arrived to unlock the door and help extinguish the fire his entire family would be dead. Dead because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.

Yet the way that Stiles had said it, raged about Kate being the one to use him had him feeling warm under the cold ache of guilt. It’s true that he’d had no idea that she was a hunter and had genuinely thought that she loved him and that she was his mate and had ignored all the signs that he didn’t recognize until it was too late. It had surprised him when Stiles had said he’s not like Kate and the warmth had spread, threatening to overtake his anger.

While it was true that he’d never hurt Stiles like that there was no telling what the future would hold for them and with him being a werewolf there would undoubtedly be dangers he’d have to face that could potentially harm him and Derek never wanted anything to ever hurt Stiles. Just the thought of something happening to Stiles made his hair stand on end and his wolf growl.

Yet there were so many things that could happen to Stiles if he wasn’t there to protect him. With Stiles he never knew what would happen and judging by his past experience he was incredibly likely to get hurt just by walking to his mailbox and back. So on one hand there was letting Stiles go and never knowing what is happening with him and forever worrying that he’s in some kind of trouble or on the other hand there’s Derek staying with Stiles and keeping him as safe as he can in a life that includes werewolves. Well, werewolves are stronger than humans and would make great body guards.

Derek sighs long and suffering and quickly wraps up the remaining sandwiches and puts them in the fridge before retreating to his room and starting up the computer. Quickly he pulls up a document and begins typing.

** Pushing Stiles Away **

**Pros:**

_Safe from most werewolf attacks (his father?)_

_Safe from hunter attacks_

_Has chances to fall in love normally_

**Cons:**

_Never know if he’s safe_

_He’s my mate_

_Won’t see his father as much_

_Won’t be able to protect him_

_He might get involved anyways_

 

** Keeping Stiles **

**Pros:**

_Will always be able to protect him_

_I’ll have my mate_

_He’ll have a whole family again_

_He’ll be able to be with his father safely_

**Cons:**

_Might be attacked by other werewolves_

_Might be target by hunters by association_

_Won’t be able to have a normal human life (but his father’s a werewolf so he won’t ever have a normal life)_

Derek groans at the list he’s made. Everything, even the cons of the lists, seems to point to him keeping Stiles so he can protect him and love him and give him everything he’s ever wanted. Everything Derek’s always wanted too. Can Derek really have what he wants? Is it time to let the past go?

Whipping out his phone he pulls up Laura’s number and only has to wait a ring and a half before her voice answers sleepily. Quickly he looks at the clock to see it’s already past eleven at night.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize it was that late. I’ll call back in the morning.”

_“You’re already talking to me, no use letting me dwell on it all night. What’s up buttercup? Everything going ok with your little mate?”_

Derek gives a small whine in the back of his throat as he realizes even his sister’s realized it. “I want to keep him Laura.” He says and his voice sounds so defeated even to his own ears.

_“Finally you realize this? Took a ridiculously long time to figure out that you’re allowed to want things Derek! Just talk to him, I’m sure he wants the same thing. Trust me, I’m sure.”_

“I just…don’t want him to be in any danger because of me. He’ll never have a normal life, never get a chance to fall in love with someone else because once I have him I’ll never want to let him go. What if that’s too much to ask?”

 _“Derek, you’re working yourself up about this too much. Look, his father’s already a werewolf so there’s no way he’s not going to be involved with us from now on and if you reject him that’ll just make things more difficult for him because every time he comes over with his father he’ll think of you and I know for a fact that it’ll hurt. Talk to him Der-bear,_ really _talk, because sitting there staring at him is_ not _talking._ ” Laura laughs.

Rubbing his eyes with his knuckles Derek lets out a long breath before nodding. “Alright, I’ll do that. He’s still awake in his room waiting for me. He’s persistent I’ll give him that much.”

_“You’ve got yourself a good one there Derek, don’t let this opportunity go to waste. Now, I’m going to get back to sleeping because that’s what normal people do at eleven pm. Goodnight Der-bear. I’ll see you in the morning, love you.”_

“Thanks Laura, I love you too. Goodnight.”

Derek’s smiling as he hangs up and closes his laptop gently. Quickly he tucks his phone into his pocket at strides from his room to Stiles’, opening the door gently just in case he’s fallen asleep but nope, there’s his stubborn, angry gaze locked on him from the top of his blanket cocoon. Derek closes the door behind him and walks slowly towards the bed, pulling off his shirt as he goes and watches as Stiles’ eyes widen.

“What are you doing? Nuh uh, no sexy times for a shit like you. Go away. Go back to your own room.”

“Stiles, I need to talk to you.”

Stiles sits up still glaring. “This doesn’t look like talking to me.”

Derek pulls his jeans off along with his socks until he’s standing there in only his underwear. “Stiles, I want to keep you.” He says once he’s kneeling on the edge of the bed, face close to Stiles’.

Derek can smell the instant Stiles reacts to him and feels warmth blooming throughout him.

Being the stubborn shit that he is Stiles just crosses his arms and backs up until he hits the wall.

“Nuh uh, you can’t just expect me to accept that after everything you said not even an hour ago.” He pauses before saying, “That was only an hour ago, right? Not like…two? Time gets kinda wonky when you’re brooding.”

Derek smiles softly and nods. “It was only an hour ago, yes.”

“Ok, good. I’m still mad at you though.” Stiles huffs.

“Stiles, I’m sorry about what I said but you have to know I said it for a reason.”

“A stupid reason!”

“No, it is a legitimate reason but…I’ve thought it over and got some…helpful advice from my sister.” Derek sits on the bed next to Stiles and sighs. “Whenever I need to make a big decision I make a small list of pros and cons. In this instance, when it comes to keeping you, the pros outweigh the cons. I…I want to keep you Stiles. It’s the first time in a very long time that I’ve wanted something this badly and… it’s difficult for me to accept it.”

“If this is going to be the norm for you, the on again off again type of guys, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up. Derek…I want you. I’ve wanted you practically from the moment I saw you. I mean, sure, I thought you were a total dick but you were a hot dick. Then I got to know you and you became a hot, kind, caring, lovable dick. You were there for me today with the situation with my dad and right now I’m kind of reeling from all the information overload and absolute _relief_ that everything finally seems _good_ for once. But you always pull yourself back and shut me out like just now. If you want to keep me then you’ll have to let me in Derek. I get that you’re hurt and that you have a fucked up history but so do I.”

“Stiles, if you let me I _will_ keep you. Once I have you I am _never_ letting you go. You’re sixteen but you’re right, you are more of an adult than I am some times.”

“Try _all_ the time.” Stiles mutters under his breath and Derek just smirks.

“Trust me, you definitely act your age sometimes. What I’m saying is, if you agree to be my mate it’s for life. For me, it’s for life. Humans aren’t affected the same way as werewolves are when it comes to mates, humans can walk away. Werewolves can’t. If you decide some time down the road that you don’t love me any more I will be devastated, the kind of devastation that I won’t walk away from. Can you handle that?”

“Does this mean you love me? Is that what being mates mean?”

Derek nods slowly. “It’s more than just that though. Yes love is a part of it but it’s not the only part. There’s the part where I want to be with you all the time, listen to you talk and to your heart beat and your lungs breathe, I want to see your face when you smile or cry or get angry, and I’ll always want to protect you from everything. It’s difficult being mates but I’ve heard that it’s the most wonderful thing in the world for a werewolf.”

“That sounds… pretty awesome actually. Sounds like what a married couple does.”

“Marriage. Yeah, I guess you could compare it to that. It’s a little deeper than that though because I’m a werewolf and you’d be a werewolf mate. There are certain…perks to being mated to a werewolf.”

Stiles gives him an interested but speculative look. “Oh really? Like what?”

“Like, your senses will be heightened a bit, you’ll always know when I’m near, you’ll smell different to other werewolves, and I’ve heard the sex is great.”

Stiles snorts. “Oh Mr. Funnyman now, huh?”

Derek smiles before turning serious once more. “Stiles, there are dangers though. If hunters ever found out that you’re my mate they could use you to get to me. You’ll be considered the ‘weak link’ in the pack to them and they’ll use whatever they can get to kill us. There’s also dangers from other werewolves. If  another pack wants to take over our territory and challenges us you’ll be caught in a fight between werewolves and could get hurt. Omegas are lone wolves with no pack but they’re feral and will kill you immediately if you make any contact with them.”

“They’ll do that anyways whether I’m with you or not though, right? It sounds like a time and place kind of thing.”

Derek nods. “That’s true, and if you were mated to me I’d always be able to tell when you’re in danger. I’ve heard that some mates will even be able to tell what the other is thinking if the bond is strong enough. Makes me wonder.”

Stiles turns and looks at Derek and Derek can only smile gently.

“This all sounds absolutely amazing but I still want to know, do you love me? I mean, I’m not going to mate to you if you don’t at least love me. It’s not even a question of do I love you because that is so blatantly obvious that you’ll have to be blind, deaf, and have idiopathic neuropathy not to know the answer to that one.”

All Stiles gets is a blank stare. “You’ll have to explain that idio one.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Idiopathic neuropathy is when there’s nerve damage that interferes with the ability to feel any sort of physical touch but has no determinable cause. So basically, if you were blind, deaf, and had idiopathic neuropathy you’d only be able to smell and taste things.”

“That’s…smart. How did you find this out?”

Stiles once again rolls his eyes. “I watched all the season of Haven on Netflix a while back and it interested me so I looked it up on the internet. We’re getting off topic! I’m starting to think you only want me for my body.”

It’s Derek’s turn to roll his eyes. “Ok, fine, the answer is…yes. I think so. I hope so? At least, that’s what it feels like it is. I don’t…really…know.”

Stiles looks at him with a gentle frown. “What does it take to make me your mate?” he asks after a few moments of contemplative silence.

“I’d have to mark you. With a bite. A claiming bite.” Derek manages to mumble out, feeling his face heat up ever so slightly in embarrassment.

“Oh, so, if we had regular sex with no claiming bite stuff we wouldn’t be mated?”

Derek nods.

“Soooo, I could have sex with you right now and you’d still be able to walk away.”

There’s a twinge of pain in Derek’s chest as he nods and shifts slightly away from Stiles, getting ready for rejection.

“Whoa, dude, stop. You look like you’re about to go drown yourself in your sink. I’m not saying I don’t want to be your mate because holy Hell I do. I’m just saying, why don’t we give ourselves time to think this through when it’s a decent hour and we’re not running on fumes. I also want to ask your mom about some things and talk to my dad about it if that’s alright with you.”

Stiles says the last part almost shyly and it makes Derek want to kiss him so he does, gently turning his head towards Stiles and giving his chin the briefest of touches that has his eyes immediately drooping to half-mast and his lips parting tantalizingly. The kiss is gentle and soft, not at all like the fiery kisses from last night and Derek can feel his mind easing.

When they pull apart from the kiss Derek again gently touches Stiles’ chin before sighing, “Do you want me to sleep here tonight or in my own bed.”

“If you leave now I’ll take it as an insult.” Stiles says without heat and Derek grins.

“Alright.”

“I don’t promise not to feel you up though. If the urge so takes me I shall feel you up to my heart’s content.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. You should also be warned that I will also feel you up if the ‘urge so takes me’.” Derek chuckles.

Finally they settle into the narrow bed and pull the covers over them, Derek spooning Stiles and listening to his heart beat even out as he falls asleep. A few minutes later he’s out.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! This year has NOT been kind to me and I have many, many legitimate excuses that no one wants to hears so I'm just going to apologize by giving you this little bit of...stuff. Thanks for sticking with me this far yalls, it's been really difficult and knowing that people still read this is honestly what keeps me going. ENJOY! ~hearts~

Stiles is pulled gently from sleep by an unknown source. His foggy mind is still concentrated on sleep but for some reason his body is already awake. Holy hell. _Way_ awake. Stiles groans as he presses a palm harshly against his morning wood throbbing against his thigh, caught in his boxers and _not_ liking it. There’s a muffled snuffle behind him and suddenly there’s a hot werewolf snuggling up against him. All of him. Like, his entire body was spooning Stiles.

The breath catches in Stiles’ throat as Derek’s arms slowly wrap around his chest and a leg folds over his and a hot, throbbing werewolf _dick_ is pressed against his ass and suddenly he’s _wide_ awake. Blushing Stiles tries to gently move out of the strong embrace but only succeeds in moving Derek who grips him tighter and starts gently rutting against him. The curve of Derek’s dick is rubbing right into the crease of his ass and the thin material between them is doing nothing to disguise the feeling.

Arousal spikes through him and his dick throbs harder against his palm and now he’s struggling _not_ to move either into his own hand or back against Derek. Maybe if he thinks of something else it’ll just go away. Wait… Why would he _want_ it to go away? If he’s a werewolf’s mate then doesn’t that mean that there are perks that come with the territory? Perks like…sex? Maybe. Perks like rubbing off on your mate? Definitely.

Stiles bites his bottom lip and sucks it between his teeth as he holds in his moans as Derek’s hips begin to twitch in his sleep, driving that rather large dick between Stiles’ ass cheeks. Should he wait for Derek to wake up so that they’re both consensually making this decision? Probably. Is he going to? Definitely not.

Pulling in a steadying breath Stiles pulls his palm away from his groin to slowly tug down his boxers until they’re past his balls before easing his hips forward so the back doesn’t catch on Derek’s dick. Once they’re almost to his knees he presses himself back into Derek and has to stop himself from groaning loudly when Derek’s dick presses against his ass and gently nudges his balls between his thighs. Stiles holds still and listens for any sign that he might have woken Derek up but there was only the gentle breaths of sleep and he quickly continued.

Taking himself in his palm he tugs slowly, not wanting to come too quickly or jerk Derek awake, and keeps his lip sucked between his teeth so as not to make any noises. Swiping his thumb over the head of his cock Stiles spreads the precum there to help ease the slide as he begins jerking himself off slowly, almost teasingly. There’s a snuffle behind him and suddenly Derek’s nose is there, snuffling at the back of his ear.

“’tiles.” Derek growls sleepily as he nuzzles into Stiles’ neck.

Stiles’ skin lights up at the hot gust of Derek’s breath and gentle nudging of his nose on his neck, arousal flaring up brightly inside him. His skin felt hot, almost too hot with Derek now pressing in tightly and his hands beginning to roam over Stiles’ skin. He kept the slow pace even though he really wanted to pick it up a notch so that Derek would be able to join in.

“Stiles.” Derek groaned his name this name as he realized exactly what Stiles was doing and gave a firm thrust into the tight space between Stiles’ thighs.

Stiles gasped, finally letting his lip go. “Derek, care to join me?” he asked breathlessly.

The response was another sharp thrust against him and Stiles felt another wave of lust crash through him and he reached back with his unoccupied hand to tug at the edge of Derek’s boxers, demanding them be taken off. Stiles groaned when Derek got the message and pulled back enough to tug his underwear down before his hot dick was once more pressed into that hot, tight space between his ass and thighs, nudging at the back of his balls.

“ _Yes_.” Stiles drew out the ‘s’ for a long second before dropping it in place of a moan.

“Stiles. Best wake up ever.”

“Just wait until we really get into. There’ll be even greater wake ups to come.” Stiles laughed breathlessly.

Derek punched up hard with his dick and Stiles writhed in his arms, his hand now stripping his dick furiously. Derek’s hand came down to gentle his fist and help him jerk himself off as he rutted against him. His other hand reached between them and tugged his ass cheek out of the way enough for him to slide his dick head over Stiles’ little pucker of a hole.

“Fuck!” Stiles cried and clamped his hand around the base of his dick to keep from cumming.

“You have no idea how badly I want to thrust into you just like this.” Derek growled as he mouthed at Stiles’ neck and ear. “I have to open you up first, get you wet so that I don’t hurt you. I want to get my mouth on you.”

“Oh shit, you’re a dirty talker. Fuck _yes_.” Stiles groans long and hard as he thrusts his hips back so Derek’s dick continually pressed against his hole, bursts of arousal tearing through him at the thought of Derek pressing inside just like this.

With how horny he was he probably wouldn’t even feel the pain. He presses back a little harder so that Derek’s dick is threatening penetration and whines deeply as the head nudges firmly against his hole, spreading the muscle bit by bit. The sensation has his dick throbbing, leaking precum copiously.

“Derek,” he whines, “I want… I want it.”

Derek grunts as his hips give an aborted thrust. The sharp movement has him spreading Stiles even farther and Stiles finally concedes that, yes, they’re going to need preparation and lube for this but damn the thought of penetration just like this is almost too much. There’s the slightest twinge of pain when he again tries to push himself back onto Derek before finally contenting himself to this much.

“Ngh, Derek, if only I could produce slick like a female there’d be no need for lube or even preparation much.” Stiles can’t help but babble. “Just think; you’d be able to take me wherever and whenever. Fuck that sounds amazing!”

“Stiles, shut up and cum.” Derek growls and starts rutting in place, not pushing in but not pulling out, the tip not quite in but definitely almost there.

Stiles whines and pushes back as much as forward as he starts fucking his fist, his fingers tight as he speeds up his pace and that eager burn of orgasm that never really left is suddenly there and he’s spilling hot over his and Derek’s fingers in a near soundless scream. Derek grunts in his ear before there’s suddenly a burning hot spread of warmth that shoots both inside of him and all over his ass. The thought of some of Derek successfully making its way inside him has his dick throbbing harshly in the final spurt of his orgasm.

They relax into the soft cushion of the mattress in a sweaty, breathless mess and Stiles can’t help but feel both smug and shy. Derek keeps him in his arms and nuzzles him gently, making these adorable purring noises that rumble against his back.

“That was fucking hot.” Stiles finally says many long minutes after as his bliss starts to fade and is replaced with an amazing refreshed feeling.

Derek simply grumbled his agreement nonverbally and continued to leave stubble burn all over Stiles’ neck, back, and shoulders. Those would sting later and the higher marks would be difficult to hide but he kind of didn’t want to hide them.

“If I came _this_ hard from just some well-mannered frottage then I am going to _die_ when we actually fuck. My brain might actually be jizzed out my dick. It’s going to be the best thing ever. Is that when you’re going to claim me? When we have sex for real?”

“Probably.” Derek grumbled as he finally let Stiles go.

Stiles groaned and stretched out to his full body length beside Derek who was sitting up with the most adorable bedhead Stiles had ever seen and he’s known Scott since he was four and has seem some outrageous bedhead. Ugh, yeah, no, never ever should he ever think about Scott directly after sexy time. Actually, just no thinking of Scott in general around anything having to do with the word ‘sexy’. Best friend, fine, sexy…no. _Derek_ is sexy; Scott is just adorable in that puppy sort of way. Heh, puppy, heh, werewolves.

Stiles snorts at the thought which earns him a raised eyebrow from Derek which he gently shakes his head at. Absentmindedly he scratches at his stomach and grimaces at the drying cum stuck in his treasure trail.

“Gross. Wanna shower with me before we head over to the Hale house?”

“Give me a minute. I need to call my editor to tell her I won’t be making any progress in my series for a while.”

“Mkay. I’ll be in the shower but if you’re not in there in ten minutes I’m starting without you.”

Stiles smiled when Derek rolled his eyes and climbed out of the bed over top of him. Stiles took that moment to appreciate the supple shape of Derek’s ass as he left the room sans clothes. Quickly Stiles gathered a change of clothes and hurried to the bathroom before the cum on his ass could start drying, that’d be painful to remove. Kneeling on the floor he got the water going before he gently ran a finger over his hole where Derek had been not five minutes ago and shuddered at the slick feeling of his cum there. He was still slightly loose from the not-quite penetration and a hot burst of arousal shot through him when he could fit his finger in with no problem, the cum slicking the way. It was almost a shame having to wash it out. It was hot as fuck.

The door jerked open and Stiles jolted, finger still buried in his ass, and turned to look at Derek with embarrassment. Derek’s cellphone was still gripped tightly in his fist and Stiles felt a shudder go through him as he realized that Derek had known what he was doing in here.

“You can smell it, can’t you? Me fingering myself with your cum?”

Stiles felt a jolt of pride when he saw Derek’s dick twitch between his thighs.

“I can smell your arousal.” Derek growled, voice low and turned on.

Stiles smiled and slid his finger out of himself, watching with excitement as Derek’s eyes watched the movement and then watched as his hole clenched around nothing. Slowly Stiles leaned heavily onto the side of the tub, lifting his ass a little higher into the air as if presenting himself to Derek. A subtle rumbling was filtering above the noise of the water that was probably already warm but was the least of Stiles’ concerns at the moment.

“Does that mean that you can smell how much I want you right now? Are there certain levels of arousal that you can smell or does it all just smell the same?”

“Every person is different, but you, Stiles, I can always smell how turned on you are.”

Stiles shuddered under Derek’s intense gaze, his dick hardening once again even though he’d gotten off only a bit ago. Perks of being a teenager.

“That means you can smell how much I want you to stop just standing there staring and to get your fingers or _something_ inside of me and preferably your other hand on my dick. Or your mouth. That’d work too. Actually, I’d kind of like to get my mouth on your dick. Yeah, I’d like that a lot too.”

Derek was behind him in a heartbeat, hands on Stiles’ ass spreading the cheeks as he knelt between Stiles’ spread feet. Stiles shifted, pushing his ass back and looking over his shoulder at Derek’s hungry expression as his thumbs pulled his cheeks completely apart to expose his hole to Derek’s eyes. A jolt of embarrassment shot through him but it was quickly drowned out by the lust and want as Derek’s thumbs continued to slide towards his hole.

There was nothing soft about Derek’s touches but they were definitely gentle and patient with control that must come from being a werewolf because not two minutes into the slow touches Stiles was already panting and pushing his hips back onto the two fingers Derek managed to slide inside of him.

“Damn, Stiles, you’re so hot inside.”

“Ngh, Derek.” Stiles panted, “Wanna cum. Want you inside me.”

“If you want to be able to stand today we can’t have sex but I can definitely get you off again before we leave.”

Stiles groaned, his face flushed so hot. It was hard to think past the pounding of the pleasure in his body. His dick was twitching with every press and twist of Derek’s fingers as they slid smoothly in and out of him. Derek shifted a bit closer to him and suddenly Derek’s dick was there, pressing up against the underside of his balls and sliding back and forth, rubbing a slick line from his hole to his balls and back.

Small noises were making their way out of Stiles’ throat, small, whining punches of sound before there was sudden a well-aimed jab of Derek’s fingers and Stiles whole body lit up, his dick pulsing violently as he cried out in pleasure. Quickly he wrapped around his dick and tugged furiously before his entire body tightened up and he was cumming so hard he thought he’d pass out.

Luckily he stayed conscious and leaned panting against the side of the tub as Derek held his fingers still inside of him but his other hand was working himself over furiously. Once he had his wits about him once more Stiles reached back with one hand and wrapped his fingers around Derek, helping him jerk himself off and it wasn’t long before Derek was drenching his backside with his cum.

After another few minutes of panting together Stiles let out a small laugh. “This is the exact opposite of what we were supposed to be doing in here. We were supposed to be cleaning up and getting ready to leave but instead got dirty. I can’t say I object though. Next time we do this should definitely be when we have enough time to really enjoy it though.”

Derek gave a short grunt of agreement and finally removed his fingers and wrapped his arms around Stiles’ torso, taking in deep breaths as he nuzzled against his shoulder. Stiles gently ran his fingers through Derek’s hair before sighing.

“Ok, now for real this time. The water’s going to get cold before we even get in.”

Somehow they managed to pull themselves together and shower thoroughly within twenty minutes before the water turned completely cold. The last few minutes were a mess of fumbling of limbs as they struggled to finish rinsing off after snatching one too many kisses under the warm spray.

“Is your family going to know what we’ve been up to? Will they smell it on me?”

“Yes but it’s not too strong. I’m more worried about what your father will think of when he scents it. He’s a new werewolf though so there’s a chance he might not know what the scent even is.”

Stiles blanched. “Oh yeah.” He rubbed his forehead slowly. “I completely forgot about the whole ‘father might not approve’ thing. But, he seemed pretty fine with us yesterday. Doesn’t that mean that he’s accepted this already?”

Derek’s face turned slightly pained. “I don’t really know. For one I don’t really know him and _he_ doesn’t really know _me_. I don’t think it’d be right to claim you without properly asking him first.”

Stiles finishes toweling off before answering. “That doesn’t matter with werewolves though, does it? Like, if you decide to claim me and I accept then they can’t stop you, right? Or am I just making a bunch of assumptions?”

Derek gives him a small smile. “You’re half right. All I need is the Alpha’s permission, not your father’s but if it’s all the same to you I’d like to get to know your father first and do this properly.”

Stiles can’t help but feel a curling warmth of happiness and pride well up within him even though it means that it’ll take even longer since Derek’s got to be a gentleman and all. He takes a few extra seconds to simply look at Derek and feel joy as he realizes that he’s finally got everything he’s ever wanted in life. His father is finally going to be ok, he’s part of a ‘family’, and he’s loved. He has friends and finally the financial problems are being sorted out. With Derek he feels like he can do anything.

Sighing Stiles plants a soft kiss on Derek’s cheek before skipping from the bathroom back to his room to get ready to visit his father.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have once again taken a lot of time to post a chapter and I really am sorry for that but I can't promise that it won't happen again because it most likely will. I have no idea how long it will take to post another chapter since I make the words up as I go along. However, I can say that there will only be a few chapters left since I only have two solid milestones left in this story. If there's anything that yalls wanna know about, anything that's unclear, please let me know so that I can address it if it's not in one of my milestones. I love hearing from alls of yalls and appreciate all the support and kudos and everything. Thank you so very much! ~hearts~

At the Hale house they were greeted by Talia and Peter along with Stiles’ father. Stiles ran forward and threw his arms around his father, hugging him tightly.

“Hey son, good to see you too.” Papa Stilinski chuckled with more than a note of seriousness in his tone.

“Yeah. I’m glad you’re here. I kept worrying that it’d all been a dream but you’re here.”

“I’m here son, can’t get rid of me that easily.” Papa Stilinski pulls away gently and Stiles feels reluctant to let him go but understands the necessity of distance for movement. “I want to know everything that’s been going on since we last spoke.”

Stiles feels his heart jump and shame, rage, and sadness spills through him. His father pauses and looks at him with a frown.

“What’s wrong Stiles?”

Stiles opens his mouth briefly before snapping it shut and shaking his head. “Let’s talk after we get some food in our bellies. I wanted to get here as quick as I could so we decided to forego breakfast.”

“Not too quickly obviously.” Peter chuckled behind him before being quickly silenced by a rough growl from Derek.

Papa Stilinski raised an eyebrow and looked back at Derek before looking at Stiles again. His eyes flickered quickly between the two of them a couple more times before Stiles could see the lightbulb go off in his dad’s head and he frowned hard. Papa Stilinski made to open his mouth but Stiles quickly waved his arms over his head, grasping his father’s attention.

“Ah! Dad! We could make pancakes together like we used to on Sundays! Maybe Talia would let us use her kitchen and we could make all sorts of pancakes for everyone!” Stiles quickly distracted his father even though the fierce look lurked in the background.

Talia granted them permission to use her kitchen and anything in it while Peter led Derek away to some unknown part of the house. Stiles managed to avoid the subject for all of the preparation of chocolate chip pancakes but once the batter was sizzling on the griddle his father turned to him with a peeved look.

“Stiles, do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into with this guy?”

Stiles sputters a bit, accidentally flinging batter onto his shoe before setting the bowl down on the counter to avoid any other batter casualties. Taking a breath he turns to his father with his own resolve.

“Dad, Derek’s been taking care of me for months. He’s a great guy! Really! He may look kind of gruff and broody and while he is those he’s also really caring and protective, he’d never let anything hurt me dad, including himself.” Stiles snorted. “It was actually him who needed protection from _me_.”

“Stiles, he’s an adult. A _werewolf_ adult. One that I am not acquainted with!”

“Well, technically you are. You met him yesterday and you were informed of the ‘thing’ between us and you seemed pretty fine with that. What happened to that acceptance?”

“I thought it was more of a brotherly type of thing like what you and Scott have! I didn’t expect _this_!” Papa Stilinski stops for a brief moment to flip the pancakes before they burn. Handy new werewolf senses to the rescue. “I didn’t even realize anything until Peter had said something and then that odd, new… _smell_ made more sense. Have you…did you two…last night…?”

“Dad! Stop! No! Well, not all the way. I mean, I wanted to but Derek’s a freaking gentleman and wanted to talk with you first and get to know you before doing anything.”

Papa Stilinski huffed and nodded, pulling the pancakes off of the griddle so that Stiles could pour on another batch before continuing.

“He’s also a _lot_ older than you Stiles. How many years is it? Nine? Ten?”

“No! It’s not even that big of a gap! You and mom had a pretty big gap between your ages!”

“We met when we were both past the legal age of consent, which you are _not_.”

“Werewolves have different rules, dad. My age doesn’t matter here like it does with human laws. My age is perfectly acceptable for Derek and his mother, the _Alpha_ , has already approved of it. The only reason why he hasn’t claimed me is because he’s respecting you. Dad, I… I think I might be really, kinda, totally…um… in love with him? Uh… yeah, definitely. I mean, it feels like love. I go all fluttery inside and my heart beats harder and I feel… _safe_ , dad. It’s such a relief whenever I’m around him, like I know that everything’s going to be ok. Does that make sense?” Stiles asks as his father flips the pancakes.

Papa Stilinski is silent for a long time, simply watching the batter cook into fluffy, golden pancakes and Stiles’ heart is thudding hard in his chest at his father’s silence. He doesn’t speak until Stiles has put the last bit of batter onto the griddle and begins another batch of batter.

“Stiles, I know this must all be really difficult for you to take in. You’re in a whole other world now and it must feel good to have someone there to protect and say he loves you but… think about it Stiles. What if you want to have children? You can’t have any with him. What if you decide that you want to go to college somewhere better than what’s offered around here? Can you really expect him to just pick up his life and move away from his family for you? What if one day you meet someone and want to spend the rest of your life with that person and not Derek? He’d be devastated. What if the reverse happens to you and he decides to leave you for someone else for whatever reason? You’ll get hurt and I never, ever want to see you hurt again.”

“Dad.” Stiles put a hand on his father’s arm. “Derek’s not like that. Dad, Derek’s my mate, and I’m his. Werewolves mate for life and once the claiming is done it can’t be undone and even if it did I wouldn’t want it to be. If you could see the way that he looked at me, the way he treated me and talked to me, you’d see it too. I know you think I’m too young but honestly, after what we’ve been through, most adults would seem like children in comparison. As for the children thing I can definitely say that it won’t be an issue for at least another decade or two and if we do ever come to that there’s multiple ways of having children. There’s adoption or surrogacy or who knows! Test tube babies might be a thing in twenty or so years!”

Papa Stilinski sighs and shakes his head, a small smile on his lips as he turns off the burner and picks up the large platter full of steaming chocolate chip pancakes.

“How about after breakfast Derek and I have a nice long chat about age of consent as well as intentions and if I still like him by the end I might consider the thought of you two dating. _Dating_ Stiles.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Dad, if it’s just dating then Derek and I have been ‘dating’ for, like, ever now. But fine, I can postpone the claiming thing for a while if that’s still what you want after you two talk. I also want to talk to Talia about some stuff.”

“Alright then. After breakfast then.”

The rest of the time spent in the kitchen was slightly less tense, the conversation flowing freely and smiles warming as the stacks of pancakes grew. By the time they were done they’d made at least two dozen pancakes and a dozen or so omelets. To accompany the main dishes were several bowls of mixed fruit and when they finally started carrying the overfilled platters of food to the long dining table Derek was already there setting dishes and silverware and heaps of napkins down the length of it.

Stiles was situated between Derek and his dad with Talia at the end of the table and the rest of the pack shuffling in to attack the large meal around them. Some of them had already eaten a light breakfast since it was now later in the morning but there was always room for more in a werewolf’s stomach. Stiles was happy to see the food his father and him disappear into happy mouths and devoured three pancakes, half an omelet, and a portion of fruit himself.

Once all the food was happily demolished his dad stood and started gathering the dirty dishes but when Stiles went to help Talia paused him.

“Stiles, let Derek help your father and you come help in the library.”

There was no room for argument so Stiles put down his handful of dishes and cast one look at Derek who gave him a small smile before quickly following the Alpha out of the room and across the large house into an enormous library. Talia shut the door behind them and she gestured for Stiles to follow her. In the back of the library were stacks of books lined up against the wall.

“Let’s talk while we work. I need the price tags removed from these and alphabetized before they go onto the shelves. Think you can help me with that?”

“Sure. I mean, yes ma’am. I can do that. Um… Am I in trouble though?”

Talia gives a chuckle before shaking her head. “No Stiles, you’re not in any trouble. I just want to talk with you. I know that there are things you want to ask me.”

Stiles follows Talia’s lead when she sits down on the floor and pulls a book down to start tearing off the tag. He gives her a curious look as he reaches for his own book.

“How did you know I have questions?”

Talia just gives him a raised eyebrow and a half-smiled smirk. “Besides the obvious curiosity I can see on your face I heard you speaking with your father.”

Stiles opened his mouth before shutting it again with a blush. He quickly peeled the tag from the book and set the book on the ground and put the mangled piece of sticky paper on the ground between his crossed legs.

“Right. I, uh, I was telling the truth. I really do love Derek and when I think about not being with him I get kind of panicky and… I don’t know how to explain just what he means to me. Even in my own head it gets all jumbled up with emotions and my words don’t come out right and I’m kinda afraid of telling him ‘cause, I mean, what if he changes his mind or while we respect my father’s wishes and he doesn’t claim me that something happens, or if…”

“Stiles, it’s normal to worry about things like this but you have to trust Derek to know what’s best for you just like he trusts you.” Talia stops his rant from getting any more embarrassing and nonsensical and while that’s embarrassing in and of itself it’s kind of a relief because he had no idea how he was going to stop himself.

Slowly he took a deep breath and grabbed another book. “Yeah. I do trust him. I think that’s pretty scary too though. Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to ask you about my father. I mean, unless you wanted to talk about it then I’ll definitely talk about it but that isn’t specifically what I wanted to talk about.”

Talia gave him another amused smile before nodding her head towards him and gesturing with one hand to go on.

“Well, I don’t know what’s secret and what’s not so if I ask something that’s invasive or I’m not meant to know I’m sorry, I’m just kind of confused about a few things. And curious. Probably more curious than confused but it might be an even thing.” Stiles paused in his ramblings as he realized that he was, once again, rambling. “Right, so, I wanted to ask, what’s going to happen with my father? I know there’s probably a lot of training he has to do and he has to learn about the werewolf world but I wanted to know, will he be able to come home? I mean, not now, obviously, but later? Will he be able to work as the Sheriff again? I know he really liked his job and when I… he lost his job, but will he be able to get it back?”

Stiles finally took a breath, staring at his fingers as the picked off a particularly difficult price sticker.

“Stiles, do you mind me asking what happened? Before I answer your questions I’d like to know what happened.”

Stiles felt his heart thud harshly in his chest that nearly pounded the breath out of his lungs but he bit his lip and nodded.

“It was an accident. I was out at night when I wasn’t supposed to be and had gotten myself stuck down a hole and my dad had noticed that I wasn’t in my room after he’d come home from a night shift. He’d called me but I missed it and when I called him back to tell him where I was he was already freaked out and he came to get me and on our way back he had a heart attack and we…” Stiles’ voice cracked as his fingers uselessly scratched at the stickiness left behind on the book, “we crashed.”

“Stiles, you’re not telling me everything. I want to know why you feel so guilty. I understand that you were out at night when you weren’t supposed to but you’re holding something back. I want you to tell me.” Talia commanded softly, scratching at her own sticker.

Stiles felt his chest aching with remembrance. “I… I had been drinking. I had taken my dad’s bottle of whiskey and gone to hang out with some classmates from school but I’d gotten drunk really fast and they’d taken the bottle and left me there in the middle of the woods after pushing me into a hole. I was too drunk to climb out then I missed my dad’s call and when my dad had gotten there he’d smelled that I had been drinking which made him even angrier. I just… I was so stupid. I’d given him a heart attack that had caused the crash and put him into a coma.”

There was a familiar tightness in his chest that felt like it would completely crush and was already starting to hurt when Talia put a firm hand on his shoulder and there was an unexpected break in the wave of pain that had been threatening to overwhelm him and he quickly looked up into her fierce eyes.

“Stiles, what you did was stupid, yes, but it’s a part of being a teenager. You love your father very much and only an idiot wouldn’t be able to see that. I do not believe for one second that you were the cause of his heart attack. There were greater things at work than the stupidity of his beloved son. You are young, you are going to make mistakes and the mistakes will have consequences but you should never, ever blame yourself for what happened. I looked into his medical history when Peter took over as his doctor and it had specifically highlighted his heart problems from before you were even born. It was just unfortunate that his heart had chosen that moment to give out, that is all.”

“Heart attacks can be caused by high stress and emotions and I don’t think I’d ever seen him as angry and stressed out as he was that night because _I_ had done something so stupid!”

“Stiles!” the sharp edge in her voice made Stiles’ spine straighten and eyes widen, “Did you go out that night with the thought of hurting your father?” When Stiles didn’t answer she narrowed her eyes, “Did you?”

“N-no! I would never…!”

“Did you go out that night knowing that your father would have a heart attack?”

“No!”

“What were you thinking as you went out that night?”

“I wanted to hang out with my classmates so that I could prove that I wasn’t a loser!”

“Now tell me how that’s your fault.”

“I…it was…” Stiles bit off his sentence, his heart rabbiting in his chest.

Talia’s hand stayed clamped on his shoulder, tight but not uncomfortable. Actually, it was extraordinarily comforting. Her grip kept him grounded.

“I didn’t mean to. I never meant for anything to happen.”

“Do you think your father did?”

Stiles shook his head. “No.”

“Do you think there was any way of knowing?”

Again Stiles shook his head. “No.”

“Is your father alright now?”

Stiles looked at her with a tortured surprise. “I…”

Talia smiled gently. “He’s fine Stiles. Your father will never have to worry about sickness or danger like a human does. There are certainly different dangers for him now as a werewolf but he’ll never be effected by a heart attack or stroke, he’ll never get the flu or a cold.”

The heart in his chest felt like it was breaking and expanding all in the same moment and he wasn’t sure if he was happy or scared.

“Am I allowed to know what my dad has to look out for as a werewolf?”

Talia nodded. “Eventually. I want you to settle in with the idea of your father being a werewolf, that your mate is a werewolf, and with the changes in your life first. As soon as you’ve pulled yourself together you’ll be educated on werewolf anatomy, history, and many, many other things.”

Talia gently removed her hand and Stiles nodded and they were silent for a few long minutes, silently tearing off price stickers and tags as Stiles thought through everything that had just happened. His heart was finally steadying in his chest, soothing an ache that had come from beating so hard when Talia finally spoke again.

“I want you to learn to move on Stiles. You need to accept what has happened in the past and let go of the guilt that has festered inside of you. It won’t happen immediately but if you allow yourself to be forgiven then eventually you’ll be able to move on. Can you do this Stiles?”

Stiles looked at her for several long seconds, breathing deeply through his nose a few times before finally nodding.

“Good. Now, as for your father these first few years are going to be difficult for him since he is older in age but the pack has already warmed to him considerably and with their help we’ll be able to teach your father all he needs to know to lead a normal life amongst the humans.”

Stiles let out a breath he hadn’t know he was holding. “I’m glad.” His voice cracked slightly and he quickly cleared his throat. “He can be a little gruff sometimes and I wasn’t sure adding claws and fangs to that would make him a particularly pleasant person to instruct.” Stiles chuckled a bit. “Um, I was also wondering, what did you talk about with my father? He seemed kind of upset when he came back out.”

Talia smiled widely. “I was informing him of what to expect in his first few months of being a werewolf. Has Derek talked to yet about what happens to a werewolf once a month on the full moon?”

“Uh, no, not really but I kind of understand. I, um, was with him on the nights of full moons some times. Uh…” Stiles thinks back to Halloween and blushes as he realized what had actually happened that night. Derek had lost control.

Talia smirks as he blushes and he kind of wants to duck his head but has too much respect for her to avoid her gazes.

“Yes, well, there are many different ways for a werewolf to go through full moons. Bitten wolves and born wolves are different in many ways and I was explaining that to your father as well as informing him about his new senses. Then I was explaining about the room we were in, the heat room. Has Derek talked to you about _those_?”

Stiles sputtered even harder. “Uh, no, not really. I mean, a little bit when I asked if he could hear you and he said you’d gone into the soundproof room which got me asking about it and so on.”

“Well, wolves go into heat twice a year for several nights in a row. It varies with each wolf but I was explaining that to your father. I was also explaining to him about the dangers he now faced to both you and others and that he’d have to minimize contact with you during the night as well as on the full moon. He was less than happy about this since he was finally able to see you after so long but he understood the risk. I had to very specifically explain to him the incredibly real danger he would put you in if he got too emotional which is why he came out as grim faced as he did.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s…rough. I don’t like that part either but if it means that he’s alive then I can deal with that. Why didn’t you want to say that in front of us?”

“Because I didn’t know how emotional he’d get when I told him as much and didn’t want to risk him harming you in any way. Nor did I want you influencing his decision. He has to make these decisions rationally and without outside distractions.”

Stiles nodded and sighed. “It sucks but I’m glad he’s in good hands. Thank you Talia. I don’t know if I’ve said it already but, really, thank you. You’ve given me my dad back and I just… I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you enough. I…”

“You owe me nothing Stiles. Every child should have parents and I know you’ve already lost your mother. You didn’t need to lose your father too. You’re also Derek’s mate, which I’ve known probably longer than Derek has, and as his mother, seeing him in pain is one of the worst things ever.”

Stiles lifted an eyebrow in question. “How _did_ you find out about me?”

Talia rolled her eyes. “Oh please. I’m his _mother_ , of course I knew about you. That and Laura is a master at taking candid photos. I have a rather nice one of you two together and I knew the second I saw Derek’s face as he looked at you. He’s an idiot for not realizing it sooner.”

Stiles chucked and nodded his head. “He’s a good guy. You raised him right.”

“Damn right I did. He was a brat when he was younger though.”

Stiles laughed in surprise then happily looked at his Alpha. “Do tell! I want to know _everything_!”

Talia laughed warmly, mischief in her eyes. “Only if you promise to use it against him later.”

“Of course! What kind of heathen do you take me for?”

For the next two hours they talked, removed the last of the price tags, alphabetized, and finally shelved the books and in that span of time Stiles felt his love growing stronger for this woman. It wasn’t the type of love that he’d had for his mother but more of a love of awe, respect, and reverence like he’d have for his savior. She really was his savior in so many ways.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it’s been a long, long time since I’d updated this and I am so sorry to everyone who’s been waiting for the next chapter. If you didn’t get to read my note from before the reason why it took so long for me to get this chapter out was because I live in the United States and I just had to uproot my entire life and move to another state. It’s been incredibly difficult to settle in here.
> 
> I also have school online and no breaks at all until Christmas, not even weekends. I write because it makes me happy, not because I have an obligation to other people which is why I never promise an update date, however, I know the feeling of waiting for something so I really am sorry that it took so very long for me to get back into this. So, all that aside, here’s the next chapter yalls have been waiting for!
> 
> Also, I edited a couple of tags and will continue to do so as the story progresses. To any of those who don't like said tag changes I am sorry but this is just how my story has progressed. Thanks for understanding.
> 
> WARNING: Male on male action, foul language, a lot of the sexticles.  
> DISCLAIMER: Me no own Teen Wolf  
> ENJOY!

Later that night as they were going home after a long, eventful day with the Hale pack Stiles turned to Derek with an inquisitive expression.

“So, what did you and my father talk about?”

Derek’s jaw jumped before he sighed. “Your father is very…concerned about your well-being.” Stiles snorted but didn’t say anything so Derek could continue. “He made it very clear that he didn’t like the age gap between us and the fact that I could potentially tear you in half without breaking a sweat.”

Stiles gaped at him. “Are you serious?! He said that?! What…”

“Hold on, I wasn’t finished.” Derek interrupted. “Yes, he doesn’t like it and yes, if he could he’d take you home immediately but he said the best place for you at the moment is with me and if that means that we’re going to be in a relationship then so be it as long as you’re safe and healthy and going to school.”

Stiles waited a few beats to make sure Derek was done before asking, “Sooo, does that mean that you’ve got his permission to fuck me sideways?”

Derek’s entire body jolted and he stared at Stiles with horror before righting the car from where it’d begun to swerve and Stiles could barely contain his laughter.

“I…wouldn’t put it that way but yes, I think so. He didn’t say it _that_ way but it was implied. Heavily implied. He doesn’t like it though.”

“Of course he wouldn’t, I’m his only child and this isn’t what he’d planned for either of us but he’s smart and loving and he understands the situation. He also understands that I’d probably completely disregard his restrictions anyways so it’s better to just allow us than to punish me later, that way he at least has some semblance of control over the situation.”

Derek nodded. “Yeah, I expected as much.”

“So as soon as we get home I expect to be _thoroughly_ debauched, just FYI.” Stiles could already feel the thrill of anticipation racing through him at the thought of what was to come.

No doubt Derek could smell his arousal since his nose flared and a subtle, low growl became noticeable in the tight space between them. A jolt of want rushed through Stiles and he was tempted to start feeling Derek up right then and there but he didn’t want to risk getting into another car crash.

“Drive faster.” He demanded and relished the expression on Derek’s face as he pressed the gas just a little harder and the car jumped underneath them.

When they reached the house they were already wound tight like an unsprung coil. The sexual tension was thick in the air and if Stiles could hardly breathe past the potent arousal then what was _Derek_ feeling? The thought sent a shiver down Stiles’ spine and once the Camaro had come to a complete stop Stiles threw off his seatbelt and jumped out of the car. Derek was there in front of him before he’d even gotten two steps towards the house and wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist so his legs could wrap around him.

Derek carried them both towards the house and pressed Stiles up against the wood of the door while he quickly unlocked the door and let them both into the house. Once inside he once again pressed Stiles up against the door and relocked it. Derek’s mouth was just as urgent as Stiles’ as they devoured each other with a clash or lips, tongue, and teeth.

“Stiles,” Derek muttered when they finally broke apart to breathe. “I’ve got to tell you something else about the claiming process that I didn’t tell you before.”

Stiles had been mouthing at Derek’s skin wherever he could reach but at those words he pulled back to look at Derek as he panted.

“What is it?”

Derek pulled him away from the door and allowed him to stand on his own feet. Stiles knew there was a confused look on his face and the smile Derek gave him did little to reassure him. Derek grabbed his hand and walked them over to the couch and sat them down facing each other.

“Ok, do you know what happens when actual wolves mate? The process they go through?”

Stiles frowned, taken aback a little at the unexpected question. “Uh, yeah, I guess. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

Derek licks his lips and his cheeks flush. “Well, werewolves are a little similar in their…anatomy when they mate.”

Stiles squints as he tries to figure out what Derek’s dodging around. “Do you turn into an actual wolf?” he asks slowly with disbelief.

Derek quickly shakes his head. “No! No, I mean… we… _I_ … have a…knot.”

Stiles stares at him for a couple seconds before nodding slowly. “Oookaay… That’s kind of weird. So what you’re telling me is that when you and I have this claiming sex you’re going to knot me like a real wolf would his mate?”

Derek nods. “It’s…almost impossible to control but there are definitely ways to avoid actually knotting inside of you. I could knot _outside_ of you but it’ll probably take longer than if I were inside. I could probably…”

Stiles flails his arms around to stop the words coming out of Derek’s mouth. “Whoa, easy there dude. You look like you’re going to have an aneurism. First off I’ll need to know approximately how big it’s gonna get and second I’ll need to know if you’re actually ok with knotting me. You seem…uncomfortable with the idea.”

“Me? I’m worried about _you_. I don’t want to hurt you. My knot is probably slightly smaller than a tennis ball. I’ve only knotted during my heats when I hit puberty and even then not every time.”

Stiles nodded his head as he thought about what he was being told. “Alright. I don’t see why not. It’ll probably take a lot of preparation though. _Please_ tell me you have lube. Like a lot of it. There is absolutely _no way_ I’m going to let your giant dick anywhere near my ass without at least a gallon of lubricant.”

The ever expressive eyebrows adorning Derek’s face furrow at the demand. “Well, I have a decent sized tube of lubricant; it’s not a gallon though.”

“Let’s see it then!”

Derek nods and gets up closely followed by Stiles as they head to his room. Derek opens his bedside table’s drawer and pulls out a reassuringly large tube of lube and Stiles quickly nods, taking it from his grasp.

“Great! That’s actually a lot more than I was expecting.” He smiles at Derek with mischief in his eye. “How about we put all this lube to use?

Derek growls and finally looking like the predator he was born as he backs Stiles up until the backs of his knees hit the edge of Derek’s mattress and he falls flat, Derek quickly climbing over him and kissing him filthily. Stiles groans, opening his mouth under Derek’s and is rewarded with a deliciously sultry taste of Derek’s tongue as it sweeps into his mouth and takes his breath away.

Derek’s fingers are quick and nimble as they start pushing up Stiles’ shirt until it’s bunched under his arms and he has to break the kiss to slide it off over his head. Stiles does the same, getting his fingers on Derek’s abs and sliding his fingers up his chest until Derek has to tug his own shirt off as well. Derek’s lips are immediately back on his as his fingers work Stiles’ button and zipper open and finally get his jeans off, tugging his boxers off at the same time. They’re caught at his ankles but Stiles quickly kicks his shoes off and toes off his socks like a pro so that the rest of his clothes easily slide right off his body and onto the floor.

Derek quickly does the same to himself since Stiles’ brain has finally given up on trying to make him concentrate on anything but the feeling of Derek’s mouth on his and the amazing sensation of all of Derek’s skin pressed against his once the rest of the clothes come off. Stiles groans and arches upwards, spreading his thighs around Derek’s waist and pushing their bodies together.

“Can’t wait to feel you inside me.” Stiles whispers into Derek’s mouth who answers back with a moan that falls off into a satisfied growl.

The tube of lubricant is resting at Stiles’ side so he quickly takes it and flips open the lid. The scent of cherries wafts over to him and he can’t help but giggle. Derek pulls back slightly and nips at his chin and neck with a questioning grumble.

“Your lube is cherry scented. I just find it kind of ironic since you’re about to pop my cherry.”

Derek presses his hips down into Stiles whose laughter turns into moans. With a small smile Derek pulls back to look down at Stiles, gazing at him with intense eyes that makes Stiles feel hot all over.

“How about instead of commenting about the scent of the lube you hand it over so I can finally get my fingers back inside of you.”

Stiles nods real quick, closing the lube with a quick snap and handing it clumsily to Derek who leans back onto his knees between Stiles’ spread thighs to give him a nice long look. Derek doesn’t open the lube and instead sets it back down beside Stiles and hooks his hands under Stiles’ knees. Gently he pushes until Stiles gets with the program and takes the back of his thighs and leans backwards so his ass is completely on display.

“This is actually kind of embarrassing.” Stiles says and bites at his lips.

“You’re beautiful Stiles.” Derek declares as he stares intensely down to Stiles’ exposed hole and dick. “Everything about you drives me _crazy_.”

A little whimper manages to escape Stiles but he can’t bring himself to care much when Derek’s eyes begin to glow that luminescent blue that shows how into Stiles he is. Derek runs his hands down the backs of Stiles’ thighs until he reaches his ass which he gently spreads even further with his thumbs, looking entranced when Stiles’ ass clenches under his gaze. Slowly he drags the pad of his thumb over the tight pucker and Stiles jolts, moaning at the sensation. Derek does it again, slower and with a bit more pressure and then again and again, repeating the motion until Stiles squirms, trying to get closer to push Derek’s thumb inside of himself.

When it’s apparent that Derek isn’t going to pick up the pace Stiles whines loudly, “Derek! Put your damn finger inside of me _now_!”

With a slow smile Derek looks up into Stiles’ eyes as he finally complies and watches Stiles’ face as he pushes his thumb harder against the pucker until finally his thumb is sliding in. Stiles groans loud and long as Derek’s dry thumb breaches him and presses just inside of his hole.

“Damn it Derek.” He groans. “Do it like you did last time! Fill me with your cum and push it deep inside of me with your fingers.”

Derek bares his teeth and growls at his words, unbearably turned on but wanting to go slow for his virgin mate.

“I’m going to take my time and prepare you for my knot. You’re going to need as much preparation as possible.”

“I don’t have the patience for that! I’m going to cum in, like, thirty seconds if you keep messing with me like this and I don’t want to cum on your fingers, I want to cum on your knot.” Stiles says filthily, knowing it’ll get a reaction from Derek.

Well, he definitely gets a reaction but it isn’t the one he expected. Instead of snarling and pushing his fingers in deep and hard Derek simply gives him a predatory smile and retracts his thumb, making Stiles groan in dismay. Derek picks up the lube that’s been warmed by its close proximity to Stiles’ body and flicks the cap open. Then, instead of slicking up his fingers, Derek takes the entire tube and presses the opening to Stiles’ hole until the little tip is inside of him and then squeezes.

Stiles gasps as the wet, slick liquid is forced into his ass making him feel slightly gross and unbearably turned on. Derek continues to squeeze the tube as he withdraws it so the lube smears all over Stiles’ skin around his hole, letting it drip down onto the sheets below his ass. Snapping the tube shut Derek tosses back to Stiles’ side and slides his fingers up his crack through the mess until he reaches his hole where he finally presses two fingers against the rim.

With those two fingers Derek presses against the rim and pulls down so his hole opens. Stiles bites his lip on a whine at the strange feeling of his rim being teased and played with. His chest is heaving as he draws in heavy breaths through his nose. Derek’s gaze flicks between his face and his fingers and Stiles can see the excitement there that belies his slow, controlled pace.

Stiles opens his mouth the yell at Derek to hurry up and just as he does Derek pushes those two fingers in past the tight ring of muscle and slides them deep inside of his body so what actually comes out is a loud wail of Derek’s name.

“Yes?”

Stiles throws his head back and tries to push back against Derek’s still fingers.

“You asshole.” Stiles manages to gasp.

Through the connection of their skin Stiles can feel the soft vibrations of Derek’s laughter and kicks out a foot which is quickly grabbed and pulled over Derek’s shoulder. Stiles returns his gaze to Derek and lets go of the leg now hoisted onto Derek. His hand falls to his dick which he takes into his hand to give it a much needed squeeze before quickly removing it before he came too quickly.

“It’s actually _your_ asshole.” Derek jokes even though the words are said in a near breathless pant.

“Yeah, yeah funny man, let’s leave the jokes to me and you keep on preparing me. I know your dick is throbbing to be pushed into my tight ass. Why are you drawing it out so much if you can’t wait to be buried balls deep inside of me?” Stiles bites out, arousal tearing through him when his words make Derek shift his hips forward so Derek’s dick rubs against the back of his thigh.

“I’ll take as long as I need to properly open you up. I am _not_ going to hurt you because I didn’t prepare you properly. When I finally push my dick into your tight ass you’re going to scream in pleasure, not pain.”

Precum tags the skin where Derek’s dick drags as he starts pushing and pulling his fingers in and out of Stiles ass, his hips moving with the rhythm. Stiles is left gasping, mouth open to take in more air as Derek’s fingers map his slick inner walls. The muscle is beginning to relax properly under Derek’s gentle preparation that has sparks of pleasure jolting through Stiles’ body, making him eager to take Derek into his body.

After another minute or two a third finger starts rubbing around his rim, relaxing it before it finally slips in with the other two on an out stroke. The stretch is odd but not unwelcome. There’s no pain at all since Derek’s pace is so incredibly slow and there’s a _lot_ of lubricant. A part of Stiles wishes Derek would go as fast and merciless as he did in the bathroom before but another part is really glad he’s taking so much time on this. This is an incredible moment in his life where they’re both making the decision to spend the rest of their lives with each other and this extra time Derek’s taking makes Stiles’ heart flutter with happiness.

As if sensing the emotion, which with Derek being a werewolf and all he probably did, Derek turned his face and pressed his lips to the inner skin of Stiles’ knee, kissing him gently and lovingly. The happy sound that escapes Stiles startles him but Derek simply looks back at him with soft eyes and makes a happy sound in response.

Derek pushes all three fingers in deep and Stiles can feel them writhing and wriggling inside of him as they spread and search. After a few seconds Derek’s fingers tap something good inside of Stiles that has him arching with his mouth open in a loud gasp.

“Holy shit! Do that again!”

Derek does it again with better accuracy and Stiles gasps again, tapering off into a moan. After another few times Stiles shakes his head and waves his hand.

“No, wait, if you keep doing that I’m going to cum. Just get your dick in me now or I won’t be able to hold it before you knot me.”

Derek growls deep in his chest which vibrates through Stiles’ body and he has to work hard at tampering down on the arousal. He tries to think of anything that’ll keep him from cumming and that concentration alone has him gently coming down from the edge of orgasm. Once he’s no longer in danger of cumming right then and there Derek resumes his preparations but this time his movements are quick and with purpose.

After another few minutes Derek is able to wriggle a fourth finger alongside the others which makes Stiles gasp. There’s a little bit of pain in the stretching now but under the quick, sure strokes of Derek’s fingers his muscles once again loosen their hold and begin accepting the stretching. Once his fingers can slide smoothly in and out without any discomfort on Stiles’ end he stops and gently tugs his fingers free. Stiles whines loudly at the loss but Derek gently shushes him, gripping him under the propped up leg and scooting closer to Stiles.

“Stiles, are you ready?”

All Stiles can do is nod. His breath had been stolen at the words. They were powerful words that were about to change his life and if he spoke now all he’d be able to get out would be some high pitched noises that hardly resembled words. So instead he takes the safer route and simply nods and uses his open mouth for gasping in lungful’s of air.

Derek smiles and leans forward a little, grasping the base of his dick and positions the tip at Stiles’ well prepared entrance. Slowly, oh so slowly, he pushes forward, watching as the tip disappears past the rim and is sucked into the tight, wet heat inside of Stiles. Stiles gasps loudly, his mouth wide open as Derek finally pushes into him. The sensation is almost exactly how he imagined, a little painful, incredibly hot, and impossibly wonderful.

“Derek! Fuck, Derek!” Stiles managed to choke out as Derek’s dick seemed to just keep going. “ _Fuck_! This is amazing!”

Derek grunted but didn’t speak until he was fully sheathed inside of Stiles. “Stiles, you’re so perfect. You’re so hot and tight and wet and you just take me so well. Fuck, you’re going to take my knot so perfectly. Gonna swallow my knot and when I’m completely stuck inside of you you’re going to swallow my cum too.”

Stiles clenches around Derek, his muscles fluttering as they get used to the thick intrusion. Derek finally releases his leg and he uses both of them to wrap around Derek’s waist, making grabby hands at Derek who obliges and leans over Stiles. They gently align their mouths and kiss each other slowly, panting between the gentle touches of their lips and tongues and teeth.

Stiles can’t help the full body shudder when Derek nips at his lips and they both groan when Derek’s dick is pushed further up Stiles’ ass. Finally Derek pulls his hips back slightly, allowing his dick to drag slowly out of Stiles’ body which clenches around him, trying to keep him from pulling out. When his dick is half out he pushes back in just as slow and Stiles groans out. On the pull out Stiles sucks in a huge breath and lets it out in the same sort of groan when Derek pushes back in.

Slowly their pace picks up, Derek setting a quicker rhythm which Stiles matches with his breathing until Derek’s thrusts are punching the breath from Stiles’ lungs. Derek puts his hands on either side of Stiles’ neck so he can brace his shoulders which prevent Stiles from being pushed into the headboard with the force of his thrusts. Stiles’ legs are wrapped tightly around Derek’s waist and his hands clutch at the closest thing they can. Currently they’re wrapped around Derek’s arms.

“Stiles…” Derek pants, “Gonna….gonna knot.”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Derek, knot me!” Stiles manages to say with the breath that’s punched out of him.

Derek groans and lowers his body over Stiles’ to bury his face in his neck, his thrusts becoming harder but slower. Stiles presses his face into the large expanse of Derek’s shoulder and pants, gently biting, kissing, and licking at the skin before him. At his entrance he can feel a slight pressure that hadn’t been there before that’s catching on his rim every time Derek thrusts in or out.

As Derek’s thrusts become slower and harder Stiles can feel the beginnings of the knot being forced in and then pulled out and then in again until finally Derek gives a harsh roar and finally pushes in as hard as he can and stills, his mouth clamping down on Stiles’ neck as he forces the large knot inside of Stiles where it continues to grow. Stiles whimpers in pain as the knot continues to expand past the point of pleasure and the teeth in his neck dig deep. His dick is painfully hard against his abdomen, weeping precum and throbbing with need but he can’t yet let go of Derek to get himself off.

On every breath that leaves him Stiles lets out whimpers and groans that are a mixture of pleasure and pain. Inside of him he can feel an odd sensation of being filled, as if his bowels were growing and the sudden shocking realization that it was Derek’s cum filling him finally pushed him over the brink into orgasm. His body contracted hard, clenching around the knot wedged inside of him and making Derek growl around his teeth still embedded in his neck. The pleasure washed over him in a blinding wave as he pulsed with each new wave of cum that emptied from his body and spread between their bodies in a sticky, wet mess.

They lay like that for several long minutes, Stiles in a haze of endorphins with Derek shuddering over him every now and again as he continued to cum. When it’d been quite a while since the last rush of cum inside of him Derek finally gently unclenched his jaw and removed his teeth from Stiles’ flesh. The pain made him wince but a soft tongue quickly licked over the bloody bite to try and soothe the hurt. Finally, after the blood has stopped flowing, Derek pulled back a bit, his body pulling up and off of Stiles’ so he could properly look into Stiles’ face.

Derek face was furrowed in concern as he said, “Are you alright? I bit kind of deep.”

Stiles gave him a dopey grin and nodded. “Hell yeah man. That was the absolute best orgasm I’ve ever had in my life. I feel like I’m going to be riding this high for weeks. Now shut your concerned face up and cuddle me. I have a feeling we’re going to be stuck for a long while.”

Derek couldn’t help but grin at his blissed out mate and lowered back down to kiss him tenderly on the lips. Stiles chuckled and broke the kiss.

“Dude, you taste like blood.”

Stiles reached up with one shaky hand and wiped the blood from Derek’s mouth so he could kiss him properly. Derek couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off of his face as they kissed which had them both laughing until it jostled where they were connected.

Between one groan and the next Stiles managed to ask, “You think I can cum at least one more time before your knot goes down?”

Derek gives him a wolfish grin. “I bet I can make you cum three more times.” And then proceeds to grind his knot directly into Stiles’ prostate.

In the end Stiles is only able to cum twice more before he passes out. Derek manages to manipulate Stiles’ limbs until he’s behind him, knot still firmly in place even though he finally stopped cumming. With his mate wrapped up in his arms Derek drops right off to sleep still buried inside of Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Finally done with chapter 29. That took way too freaking long! I am so, so sorry about how long that took to get out but, again, I won’t promise that I’ll have another one soon because I don’t keep a schedule. I don’t know how many more chapters I’ll have after this one, maybe one or two, I’m not sure.
> 
> Thank you so very, very much for alls of yalls that have been reading this so avidly and leaving comments, it means a lot to me that there’re so many people who care about what I write. I was so incredibly proud of my readers when I got so many people supporting me through this rough move and I honestly couldn’t be happier with all of yalls. Thank you so much, all of you. ~hearts~


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! Again, I gotta say, I only post when I can so I can't promise updates however if you have any questions for me I will always answer them. I hope yalls enjoy this chapter as well.

When Stiles wakes up his body aches like no lacrosse practice has ever made him feel and it’s amazing. There’s light pouring in through the cracks in the blinds and Derek’s a heavy, comforting weight against his back. Stretching out he notices that Derek’s dick was still nestled inside of him even though he was soft and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of arousal at the feeling. Slowly he shifts his hips forward until Derek slips out and then it’s like the floodgates had opened and an ocean of cum floods out of him.

Moaning Stiles rolls onto his stomach and gently places a hand at his sore, open entrance. Cum leaks through his fingers and he groans before pushing two fingers inside of himself. He’s so incredibly wet and open and the cum just won’t stop.

There’s a low growl beside him before suddenly Derek’s fingers are there, pushing in alongside Stiles’ but with a completely different intent. Instead of trying to get the cum out Derek’s fingers are scooping up whatever is left on his thighs and pushing it back into Stiles’ ass.

“No! It’s such a mess.” Stiles groans in protest even when his dick twitches with interest.

“Want to put more inside you.” Derek grumbles and pulls Stiles back against him.

Stiles gasps when Derek’s fingers push deep inside of him and the lewd squishing noises reach his ears. Derek’s hips shift forward and his dick that had been soft just a couple minutes ago was once again hard and raring to go.

Derek shifts until he was leaning over Stiles and gently parts his cheeks with his thumbs and drives his dick straight inside Stiles. Stiles gasps and moans loudly when Derek’s dick just keeps going and going until his hips are pressed firmly against his ass. Derek pants in Stiles’ ear and Stiles bares his bitten neck for Derek to mouth at as his hips grind down into Stiles’.

Derek doesn’t thrust really, simply stays there over him, grinding into him firmly over and over, keeping as deep as possible until Stiles is almost crying with pleasure. It only takes a couple minutes before Stiles is choking up and cumming hard into the mattress below. Derek grunts and comes as well as Stiles clenches over and over around him with the force of his orgasm. Once he’s filled him up yet again Derek leans over to the side and lies back down, pulling Stiles with him but not pulling out yet.

“It feels like I’ve got an ocean of cum inside of me.” Stiles whimpers and rubs a hand over the noticeable bulge in his abdomen.

Derek’s hand joins Stiles’ and rubs over the slightly extended flesh and rumbles happily against the sweat sticky skin of Stiles’ neck.

“I want to watch when it all comes out. Want to see it pouring out of you and then once you’re empty I’m going to fill you back up.”

Stiles shivers with pleasure. “You know, you’re a kinky little shit.” He pauses before smiling. “I love it.”

Derek growls again into his ear and teases the lobe with his teeth. “I bet you do. Now, I want you to hold it all in until we reach the tub, then I want to see you let it all go.”

“Really? The first morning after and you’re already having me do all this kinky shit?”

“Are you saying you don’t want to?”

“Fuck no. Come on, let’s go. I’m all crusty from last night anyways and really need to wash.”

Derek rumbles happily and allows Stiles to roll onto his stomach once more before finally pulling out slowly so there’s no spillage. The sheets are an absolute disaster when he stands up and gets a good look at the bed but he can’t find it in him to care. The sight of his mate covered in his semen, with his beautiful pale skin and dozens of love marks makes Derek’s chest fill with happiness and contentment and love.

“I might need some help up.” Stiles confesses as his muscles shake with the strain of trying to pull himself upright.

Derek smiles proudly at him before leaning down and scooping his mate up into his arms. “Remember to hold it in.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. If anything spills I’m blaming you and your giant cock for splitting me open all last night _and_ this morning. Seriously, I’m so fucking loose now. If it doesn’t go back to normal and I end up with loose bowels I am blaming you and making you buy all of my adult diapers and clean up all my messes.”

Derek’s laugh rumbles through Stiles and he can’t help but smile.

“You’ll be just fine.” He says and sets him gently on his feet in the tub before closing the bathroom door. When he turns back Stiles is looking at him from beneath his dark lashes and a small smile. “Now, I want to see it. Turn around.”

Stiles shivers at the command and does as he’s told. “This is really embarrassing Derek.” He mutters even though he’s not really complaining.

“Would it make you feel better to have the shower on?”

Stiles hesitates for a second before nodding. Derek leans over the edge of the tub and turns on the faucet. They only have to wait for a moment before the water is warm and Derek starts up the shower head which cascades over his mate’s body. Derek sits down on the toilet seat and watches his mate.

“Now, empty yourself.”

Arousal at being commanded so firmly and with such a deep voice makes Stiles’ head spin and he reaches down with one hand and braces himself against the tile wall with the other. Gently he prods his sore entrance and wills himself to relax. The uncomfortable pressure of all that cum in his bowels makes it easier for him to relax and once he does he slips two fingers inside of himself and spreads his fingers. As soon as he does the cum starts flowing out of his body.

Behind him he can hear the quiet growls and knows that Derek’s watching his cum flow from Stiles’ body. Pressing one hand against his distended abdomen he lets all of it go and shivers in pleasure as it’s finally released from inside of him. The cum is hotter than the water and he can feel it stream down his legs until it’s washed away.

“Fuck Stiles. I could watch this forever. I could fill you until you can’t take any more and then watch as you let it all out.” Derek pauses before saying, “I never knew I was into something like that.”

Stiles can’t help the breathless chuckle that punches out of him. “Me neither. But I gotta say this is definitely one of the hottest things I’d never even thought about before. Perks of being the mate of a werewolf I guess. Just like knotting.” Stiles gives a full body shudder. “Fucking amazing Derek.”

Derek growls behind him and stands up quickly, stepping into the shower alongside his mate and pulling the frosted glass door closed behind him. Once in there he crowds Stiles’ back up against the shower wall and pushes their mouths together, kissing those swollen, soft lips tenderly. Stiles makes a happy sound and kisses right back, soft, pink tongue sweeping over his as Derek opens Stiles’ mouth up. They kiss for long minutes, luxuriating in the warm stream of water pouring over their bodies and soothing any aches.

After a while Stiles pulls back, mouth open and a deep red as he pants against Derek’s mouth. Another quick peck and Stiles reaches to his right and picks up the body wash, putting it into Derek’s hand.

“Time for you to clean up your mess.” Stiles commands, voice deep and gravelly from the kissing.

Derek smiles and takes the body wash and snaps it open. He takes a small step back so he’s not completely obstructing his access to Stiles’ skin and pours some of the slippery liquid into his hand before handing it back to Stiles. Stiles gives him a mischievous look and pours his own handful before setting the open bottle back onto the shower shelf unit. They both start rubbing the other down with soothing hands, Derek’s strong fingers massaging through the sore muscles in Stiles’ body as Stiles simply washes him since with Derek being a werewolf he doesn’t stay sore for very long, something Stiles envies. Derek carefully washes around the vivid red bite mark that had scabbed over and can’t help but feel a rush of satisfaction at seeing his mark on his mate.

“So, you go back to school today.” Derek says as way of making conversation and to distract himself from becoming too aroused.

Stiles sighs, obviously not pleased. “Yeah. I’m _not_ looking forward to it. My ass is going to ache all day.” He grouches but Derek can feel the satisfaction rolling off him.

Derek gives him a small smiles. “No, but it’s necessary and one of the conditions your father gave me when we had our talk.”

“Man, I don’t even want to know the extent of that talk. I’m certain it was about something humiliating, threatening, and altogether uncomfortable.”

“Yes, yes, and yes to all of the above. It wasn’t _bad_. He was just being your father. He wanted to make sure that you’d be taken care of since he wasn’t going to be much of a fatherly figure for a while.”

Sadness stings in Stiles’ chest. “Yeah but he’ll always be my father so that’s never going to be an issue. Doesn’t matter if he turns into a hairy creature with anger issues once a month, he’ll always know what’s best for me. And that’s you. I think he realizes that.”

Derek gives a satisfied rumble. “I think so too. His number one concern was that you are taken care of. School, food, shelter, etcetera. He also said that he wouldn’t hesitate to tear my throat out if I ever hurt you, damn the consequences.”

Stiles looks up from where he’s soaping Derek’s arm and gapes at him. “Are you serious? Did he actually say that?”

Derek smiles at him, laughter evident behind his words as he says, “Yes he did but that was about the extent of his threat. He also made sure that I am serious about you. Told me several…revealing things about you to test my resolve.”

Stiles lets out a long, embarrassed groan and leans into Derek’s chest, pressing his forehead to his soapy skin. “Nooooo, why?! What did he say? Oh fuck, it was probably about that time with the hose when I was in sixth grade.”

Derek’s laughter makes Stiles’ head bob and he can’t help but smile too. “No, but I definitely need to hear _that_ one if it’s the first thing you thought of. He explained to me everything I already knew. Hyper active, loud, talkative, doesn’t back off easily, all the usual stuff that’s just who you are.”

Stiles leans back again and gives Derek a warm smile. “And what did you say back?”

Now it’s Derek’s turn for his face to redden and Stiles can’t help but be incredibly curious and delighted at the adorable reaction.

“I…uh… said that even if you hated me I’d still love you no matter what.” Stiles’ jaw drops but Derek continues before he can get a word in edgewise, “And I know that that sounds kind of stalker-ish and creepy but if that were to ever happen,” he makes an unhappy face, “I’d know to stay away…if that’s what you wanted.”

“Wow, you’re like a martyr. No wonder my father let me go with you so easily. I expected a hell of a lot more fight but…now I understand. Of course my father would let you go if you said that. Well, just to reassure you there’s no way in hell I could ever come to hate you, you’re just too…perfect. Can I say perfect? I think you’re perfect. Well, perfect for me. Just me. No one else. Absolutely no one else can have you.” Stiles blushes, “No one but me.”

Derek smiles lovingly at him and it makes his heart swell to see the happiness there. “And as absolutely cheesy as it sounds there’s absolutely no one out there for me either. Just you. Forever. If that’s what you want.”

Stiles feels simultaneously as if he’s going to melt into a puddle of happy goo and like he could fly at any moment.

“Fuck I’m so happy. And you’re right. That _was_ really cheesy but it’s all true. Of _course_ I’m gonna want you forever. Besides, we’re mated now, even if you wanted to you can’t take it back. Never. I’m never giving you away. So get ready for some hard core clinginess because I am _never_ leaving you.”

Derek smiles and Stiles can’t help the overwhelming feeling of adoration he feels towards that smile and surges forward, firmly attaching himself to Derek’s front as he kisses him hard and happily, teeth clacking as they both smile and laugh. Once again it takes several minutes for them to part and by then it’s gone past just happy territory and into vaguely aroused territory.

“Ok, the water is started to lose its heat so we should hurry up.” Stiles says and grabs the open body wash once more.

“Right.”

Once he has a good handful of the delicious smelling soap he starts smoothing it over the parts of Derek he hadn’t previously gotten. Derek’s rough, thorough hands started soaping him down as well, gripping along his arms and chest but when he gets to Stiles’ side and sweeps roughly over his scar Stiles gasps and jerks away. Derek immediately pulls his hands back and freezes.

“Uh, sorry, sorry. My scar still hurts sometimes when it’s directly pressed on. I looked it up a long while ago and figured it was just a mental thing. You know, phantom pains that people get after traumatic injuries. It’s…uh… it’s fine. Just, gently.” Stiles explains, hating Derek’s recoil.

Slowly Derek replaces his hands gently, smoothing the soap over the scar carefully and only relaxes when Stiles gives him a look of encouragement before going back to cleaning Derek’s skin. Between the two of them it takes another ten minutes before they’re finally soaped, shampooed and rinsed and by then the water is barely retaining any of its warmth.

After they’re both finished toweling each other off Stiles says, “So, what’s for breakfast?” and goes strolling out of Derek’s room without bothering to get dressed.

Derek smiles fondly and shakes his head. “Whatever you want. I can make some eggs if you want.”

“Mm, yeah, eggs with hot dogs. Do we have hot dogs? I think I bought some last time we went shopping. If so I want eggs with hot dogs and ketchup.”

Derek grimaces as he follows his mate into the kitchen. “That sounds vaguely disgusting.”

Stiles gives him a mock insulted look before he dives into the fridge. “No way man! They are the breakfast of champions! It’s also really good with syrup. Man I’m hungry!”

Stiles starts pulling things out of the fridge and handing them to Derek who puts them on the counter. After a couple of seconds of pulling open drawers Stiles makes a triumphant noise and hands Derek a packet of hot dogs and finally shuts the fridge.

“You whisk the eggs and I’ll cut the hot dogs.” Stiles says and immediately grabs the largest knife from the rack even though it’s obvious he doesn’t need one that big.

Together they manage to fashion a decent meal out of ingredients that Derek is still skeptical about even as they sit down with their steaming plates of eggs, hot dogs, and ketchup. Stiles just laughs at his wary expression and digs in, moaning so happily that Derek can’t help but smile and start eating as well. He’s got to admit that it’s not as awful as he’d first expected but probably not the best food ever like Stiles is trying to making him believe. Once they’ve finally consumed everything they put their plates in the dishwasher and head back to Derek’s room.

“You know, I think I should just move in here with you so I don’t have to go back to the other room to get my stuff.” Stiles says as he pulls one of Derek’s shirts over his head.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. Let’s do that when you get home from school since we’re running out of time.”

Stiles looks over to the clock which reads just passed seven fifteen and curses. “You know, I’m honestly amazed that we woke up as early as we did. After going to bed so late and all that ‘extracurricular activity’ we did should have left us sleeping until noon _at least_.”

 “Probably. I’m glad we didn’t though because I didn’t set an alarm and your dad would probably be mad at me for making you late.”

“You know, I _could_ just skip. I have a very legitimate excuse.”

“Not a good enough one. You’re still going to school Stiles.” Derek immediately shoots down his idea but then says, “Though, if anything goes wrong, don’t hesitate to call me immediately.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “Oh please, you’re just being overprotective. I wouldn’t call you _just_ because something went wrong, I’ll call you because I’ll miss you.” He says matter-of-factly.

Derek feels warmth and love bloom in his chest and smiles lovingly at his mate who smiles back with the same love and warmth.

“We are so cheesy.” Stiles says after long moments of staring at each other.

Derek snorts in laughter and nods. “Yes we are and I am totally ok with that. Now go put on some underwear and pants and grab your backpack. We need to be out the door in about five minutes.”

Stiles groans but stomps out of the room to go do as he’s told. Derek can’t help but watch Stiles’ ass as he walks from the room and smiles when Stiles looks back and catches him staring. Stiles just smiles and gives a shake of his ass and then a laugh before turning into his own room.

Within five minutes they’re both piled into the car, Stiles sitting gingerly on the seat as the soreness really sets in.

“Dude, you really did a number on my ass.” Stiles complains as they bump over the rough gravel.

“And I’m going to do it again.”

Stiles groans. “Dude, I’m going to school! You can’t just say that and expect me to be ok with leaving the car and not seeing you for, like, a bajillion hours.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s only seven hours but sure, let’s go with a bajillion. And I fully expect you to leave without a fight and come back to me within those seven hours completely unscathed.”

Stiles sighs dramatically but looks over at Derek with a smile. The rest of the drive consists of poorly concealed innuendos, sexual frustration, and happiness until the roll into the Beacon Hills parking lot.

“Wait. I could have just driven here on my own and you wouldn’t have had to waste time driving me.” Stiles realizes once they’ve come to a full stop in one of the parking spaces towards the back of the lot.

“Did you really think that I’d let you drive yourself anywhere today?” Derek asks.

Stiles sighs, “No, I suppose not. Thanks for the ride.” Stiles says and gathers his backpack into his lap and leans over the center console to give his mate a firm kiss on the lips.

When Stiles pulls back Derek lifts a hand and wraps it around the back of Stiles’ neck, pulling him back in for a deeper, more thorough kiss that lasts a satisfying amount of time  longer than Stiles’ quick press of a kiss. Finally Derek lets Stiles go who gasps for breath and looks at him with half-lidded eyes that demand more but thankfully Stiles doesn’t ask for more because there’s no way Stiles would make it to first period if they go for another kiss.

“Th-thanks. I’ll, uh, get out now before we decide the best place for round two is in the cramped backseat of your car that is parked in front of my high school with a lot of other people around.”

Derek huffs a laugh and unlocks the door for Stiles to finally fall out of. Stiles rights himself and gives Derek one more smile before closing the door and starting to walk towards his high school. Half-way across the lot he realizes something and pulls out his phone.

**Stiles: I forgot to say I love you!**

Seconds later he gets:

**Derek: I love you too. Get to class.**

Stiles laughs at the short and sweet text and heads off to his first class.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since I've posted (again) and I can't promise when the next one's gonna be since I write whenever I have time which isn't often. I hope yalls enjoy this chapter and I hope it answers some questions. 
> 
> ENJOY!

Stiles walks into his first class feeling like it was the best day of his life. His father is alive and well, he has a wonderful, sexy, loving, caring mate, his life is finally starting to resemble normalcy, and he can finally rekindle his friendship with Scott after having been separated due to his time off of school.

At the end of the school day he doesn’t feel the same amount of enthusiasm for the day. It’s his first extra period, and the other students that had been messing with him last time are now sitting one behind and one in front of him. The douche, Matt, is sitting behind him while the other, Garret, is sitting in front of him and there is a sudden feeling of dread sinking inside of him when they both give him a _look_ before taking their seats. His feeling isn’t wrong.

Halfway through the math lesson Matt leans forward next to his ear and whispers, “How’s your shit-faced father doing? Does he have the nurses bringing him booze and _taking care of him_ while he’s in the hospital?”

Anger flares inside of Stiles but he keeps his eyes trained forward, trying to ignore the biting words but Garret’s shoulders are shaking with laughter in front of him and he has to bite his lips hard to keep from acknowledging their awful bullying.

Throughout the rest of the lesson there are more remarks, and a little before the lesson is over Matt takes to throwing things at him. Little bits of eraser, paper, and spit wads end up in his hair and down his shirt. They’re fine at the start with just those little things but towards the end Matt had taken to jabbing him with his pencil, tearing the shirt a bit in places to reach his skin. He wants nothing more than to punch them both in their smug ass faces but he _needs_ to pass these classes. He absolutely _cannot_ fail.

Finally, after what seems like forever and a day, Mr. Stowe lets them out and Stiles gathers up his things and starts to bolt from the classroom. He gets about three steps down the empty hallway before the back of his shirt is yanked and he goes sprawling to the floor, head ringing as it thunks on the ground. Garrett and Matt look down at him with identical expressions of mirth.

“Oops, I thought I saw a bug.” Garret says, voice high in mock apology.

Matt has a small bottle of cranberry juice opened in his hand and tips it until it the red liquid pours over Stiles’ prone chest. The cold juice immediately soaks into the light grey shirt he’d borrowed from Derek and the anger he’d been tamping down since then rears up and he takes a hold of one leg per person and yanks. The movement sends them both falling to the floor and the juice ends up soaking them both as Stiles finally regains his feet.

“I am going to _kill_ you Stilinski!” Matt roars from the floor.

Stiles starts backing away, phone in his hand. “Oh, so you can do it to me but I can’t do the _exact_ same thing back? Dude, hypocritical.”

Stiles turns and starts beating a hasty retreat towards the front of the school. Behind him he can hear the squeaks of their shoes as they take off after them.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Stiles curses and starts running, speed dialing Derek as he runs down the halls.

The phone rings twice before the wonderful voice of his mate fills his ears.

_“Stiles. Are you out of school? I thought you had another hour to go.”_

“Uh, yeah, I do but I kind of ran into a problem with a couple of the other kids in my supplementary classes. They kind of want me dead.” Stiles pants into the phone.

The squeaking of the shoes is getting closer and the catcalls are getting louder. Derek must hear them because the seriousness in which he answers has Stiles feeling just a bit of relief.

_“I’ll be there soon. Don’t hang up. Meet me at the parking lot entrance.”_

“Ok. Yeah. Good idea. _Hurry_!” Stiles pants.

He’s literally five feet from the double doors when he’s tackled from behind. He goes down hard and immediately there’s pain flaring bright and sharp all down his scarred side. Stiles gasps in pain and clutches the phone hard in his hands. He can hear Derek’s voice but he can’t make out the words as he tries to get air back into his lungs.

“I am going to kick your skull through the pavement.” Matt hisses in his ear and yanks him up by the hair.

Stiles quickly puts his phone in his pocket as he’s dragged through the double doors and towards the back corner of the lot. There were only three or four left in the lot and they headed for the only one in the far right corner. He kicks and yells but Garret keeps kicking out his feet so he ends up being held up by Matt’s hold on his hair which freaking _hurts_.

“Let me _go_ you sick fuckers! What the hell have I done to you to make you do this? I literally only know your names.”

“I’m going to explain this simply, alright?” Matt says, looking down into his face with so much hate it startles Stiles. “Your dumbass father getting fired means that there was a new Sheriff who was hired. You know what that new Sheriff did?” Matt asks and throws Stiles into the side of the car. When Stiles doesn’t answer he says, “He dismissed the file they had on _my_ case. The case that was almost complete! They were finally going to put Coach Lahey behind bars for what he’d done but now he’s _never_ going to pay for what he’s done! All because your fuck-up of a father had to go and get in a car crash. The least he could have done is killed you in the process. Maybe _then_ he’d be able to feel even the slightest amount of agony that I’ve been feeling _all my life!_ ”

Stiles watches in horror as Matt rants, the anger building and building until his face is an alarming shade of red as he shouts the last at Stiles. Garret is just kind of frowning at Matt as if he hadn’t know the reason for his bullying either.

“Now I gotta do it myself. _Someone’s_ gotta pay for what they’ve done to me. So I’ll start with you. Then your father. Then the other people who let me _drown_! Then finally, once I’ve gotten Lahey all rattled up I’ll finally take the justice I _deserve_! The justice that _your father_ let slip through his _drunk fingers!_ ”

Matt punctuates his exclamations with swift kicks to Stiles’ stomach who doubles over in pain, gasping for air. Garret just kinds of watches with abject horror but doesn’t make any move to stop the next kicks that come at him. Stiles puts his hands out in front of him, trying to defend himself as Matt keeps kicking and punching him.

“It wasn’t my dad’s fault!” Stiles screams at him. “He didn’t crash on purpose! Leave him out of it!”

Each word just seems to make Matt madder, his kicks become brutal and at one point he even stomps down on Stiles’ raised hands, crushing it into the pavement. Stiles screams, tries to kick out, tries to push him away but a swift kick to the head has him seeing double, his ears ringing. He can feel blood gush from his nose and mouth where he bit the inside of his cheek. Another kick to his scarred side has him falling sideways onto the ground, gasping for air.

There’s a brief pause in the beating and Stiles looks up to see Garret pushing at Matt, telling him it’s enough, but Matt swings his fist fast into the side of Garret’s face and he’s down, completely unconscious behind Matt. Matt gathers up the front of Stiles’ bloody shirt and pulls him up until he’s sitting once again.

“You and your dad ruined _everything_ I had been working for! _Everything!_ ” he screams and wraps his hands around Stiles’ neck.

Stiles chokes, lifting his hands to try and pry Matt’s off but his hands are a bloody mess and Matt has a strong grip. He kicks out but his flailing limbs are useless when Matt stomps on them before kneeling on them so they’re face to face. Matt is yelling again but it just sounds like noise to Stiles, his brain is shutting down from lack of blood and oxygen. Matt’s angry face, reddened with fury, is the last thing he sees before his vision swims with darkness and bursts of color and he loses consciousness.

~

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

What the fuck?

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The noise seems to be right by Stiles’ ear. The stupid sound is cutting through his blissful nap but he can’t seem to drown it out. The sound pulls him into consciousness despite his mental protests and he finally flicks open his eyes. Or he tries to. One seems to be _glued_ shut and the other feels like it has a freaking ton weighing it down. He manages to get one heavy eye open eventually and he stares up at a dark ceiling that he doesn’t recognize.

“What the fuck?” he manages to whisper through what feels like a cotton-filled mouth.

There’s a sharp clack next to him like someone had been balancing on the two back limbs of a chair and almost unbalanced so they slammed forward again. Stiles wants to turn to look at whatever made the noise but it’s too difficult to turn his neck. Suddenly there’s a dark figure obscuring his vision and he frowns and tries to pull back but he’s already pressed into his pillow as far as he’ll go. It takes a couple of seconds before he realizes he’s staring into the eyes of his mate.

“Derek?” he croaks.

Relief and guilt flood Derek’s face and Stiles feels confusion welling up in him.

“Derek, what the hell is going on?” he slurs.

“Stiles, do you know where you are?”

All Stiles can manage is a stupid, drawn out, “Uuuhhhh…” which isn’t really answer but it is to Derek.

“Stiles, you’re in the hospital.”

Stiles frowns. “Why?”

There’s a buzzing noise and suddenly the bed beneath him begins to move, lifting until he’s in a half-sitting position and can see Derek and his father in the rather large hospital room together with him. His father is asleep in a chair and Stiles can’t help but feel guilty.

“What happened? My father shouldn’t have to be in a hospital ever again.” He whispers furiously.

Derek frowns, concern written all over his face. “Stiles, stay calm, ok? You were seriously hurt and are now recovering in my family’s hospital. Do you remember what happened?”

Stiles frown as he thought back through his last memory. There was going to school and then…nothing. “Dude, by saying ‘stay calm’ it immediately makes me _not_ calm. I remember I went to school after you dropped me off. I… I went to first period…” Stiles off, thinking hard, “What happened?”

“Another one of your classmates almost beat you to death. I was on the phone with you when it happened so he’s in jail at the moment. That’s not all though.”

“That’s not all?” Stiles parrots. “How the hell can that not be all?!”

Derek curls his fingers around Stiles’ hand that isn’t bandaged. “You had remaining shrapnel imbedded in your side from the car crash. My uncle says it looks like the doctors who operated on you only took the larger chunks of metal out and sewed you up without any further digging. You’re lucky to still be alive.”

Stiles is silent, letting that sink in. All this time he’d thought it’d been phantom pains but it was actually _shrapnel_.

“What the fuck?” he says yet again.

Derek doesn’t get to answer before the door opens and light spills in around two figures in the doorway. Stiles trains his one good eye on them as they walk in and shut the door. They keep the lights off but Stiles recognizes them after a few seconds. Peter and Talia make their way to the other side of the bed opposite Derek and his father and take the two seats there.

“Stiles, it’s good to see that you’re finally awake.” Peter says kindly and starts fiddling with the machines. “Do you feel any discomfort at the moment? Any pain?”

Stiles goes to shake his head but rethinks that course of action and instead replies, “Uh, no, not really. Besides not being able to move I’m pretty comfortable. Derek says there were still pieces of shrapnel inside me from the crash...”

Peter nods and after writing something on the clipboard he’s carrying turns to him with a face clear of everything which makes Stiles feel both apprehensive and strangely calm.

“The same doctors who put your father into a coma also operated on you. To cut costs they only took out what was visible before sewing you up which left several alarmingly sharp and large pieces of metal inside your body. I was able to successfully remove all foreign objects without much problem. There was a lot of scar tissue around the metal so you might feel like your skin is kind of tight there but it shouldn’t cause any further issues. Now, the damage the other student caused was more worrying. You have two broken ribs, a fractured hand, a fractured tibia, and severe bruising pretty much everywhere. There was also some head trauma so I’d like to perform a couple of tests to be sure that everything is working alright.”

Stiles nods and casts a quick glance over to Derek whose grim face is staring at his uncle. As he watches Derek opens his mouth and says, “He can’t remember anything about the attack. The entire day is gone.”

Peter looks from Derek back to Stiles with a single raised eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, I can’t say that was completely unexpected but honestly I’d have to say that’s a good thing for Stiles. I wouldn’t want to remember something like that if I had a choice.”

“It’s weird.” Stiles says to no one in particular. “It’s weird not to be able to remember the incident that put me here. It was honestly like I was just waking from a nap only to discover that, hey! You’re in the hospital again! Good job you moron!”

“This wasn’t your fault Stiles.” Stiles is startled when his father is the one who speaks up. “You had absolutely no way of knowing about anything that had happened.”

His father’s eyes are glowing golden and Stiles quickly looks to Talia in concern but she looks completely calm.

“I know, it’s just…we’ve had enough of hospitals and bodily injuries to last several lifetimes. It sucks to be back in one. I don’t like them.”

“Not many people do son.”

Stiles sighs and nods. “So, how long am I gonna be stuck this time? I can’t miss anymore school.”

“Your school has already been contacted.” Talia says and Stiles immediately looks towards his Alpha. “Garret Holder has also spoken up in your favor and explained exactly what Matthew Daehler did as well as what he had done. You’re excused for as long as is necessary.”

Relief floods through Stiles. “So you all know what happened?” Silence. “Uh, I’d kind of like to know since, you know, it happened to _me_.” Stiles asks awkwardly.

“Stiles, I don’t think it matters what happened. You were beat up by an awful person and you’re now recovering. Knowing would probably just cause more complications, right doc?” Papa Stilinski finally answers after several tense moments of silence.

“As I said earlier, it’s probably best if you don’t worry about it. You already have mild amnesia and putting more stress on top of your condition would be counterproductive. How about we talk about this when you’re healthier?”

Seeing that his persistence only tired him out and that they really weren’t going to talk about it Stiles finally conceded and relaxed into the bed.

“Fine, but as soon as I’m healthy, if I still haven’t remembered, I want to know.” Stiles pouted.

Derek’s thumb smoothed over his hand and Stiles turned to return the soft smile he got from his mate.

“Just concentrate on healing up.”

Stiles gave a small nod and finally gave up to his exhaustion and drifted back to sleep.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's another chapter, sorry about the weird posting dates but I don't have a writing schedule and I never will since inspiration is a random thing for me. I'm almost done with this fic, it'll probably only be another chapter or two until I'm done and one of those will be an epilogue. I can't believe it's already been a year since I started this story. It's kind of sad to come to the end.  
> I have been working on other ones as well so I'll start posting one of those soon after I finish this one so I hope yalls are looking forward to that. Pretty much every Teen Wolf fic I post will always involve my favorite pairing (Stiles and Derek if that much were totally, completely obvious) so I hope yalls will continue reading my stories! Thanks! ~hearts~

“Healing suuuuuuuucks!” Stiles complained from his bed that he’d been lying in for a week straight except for bathroom breaks.

“Yup.” Derek answers yet again, used to Stiles’ complaining by now.

“Why are you still sitting here? You can actually _move_. Why would you just spend all your time just sitting there? Seriously, all you’ve done all week is read books, type on your computer, and make food. I haven’t even seen you go to the bathroom!”

“I don’t have the constant need to move.” Derek answered simply, continuing to reread through his latest novel he managed to finish for his editor on time.

Stiles let out a grumpy growl and shook his head. “As soon as I’m healed I’m going to run around the house at least five times.”

“Why?”

“Because I can!”

“How about instead of complaining you take a nap. You’re grumpy.”

“I’m grumpy because all I’ve been doing is _napping_!”

“Your body needs to heal. I can grab you one of your sleeping pills if you’d like.”

Stiles opens his mouth to argue but stops when he looks over and sees Derek’s slightly furrowed brow. After so many months of being with the man Stiles can easily identify the concern in his expression. His heart flutters and the anger slowly drains out of him. Sighing he shakes his head.

“Yeah, ok. It’s just a bit longer anyways.”

Derek gives him a small smile and nods. As he stands up he leans over to give Stiles a soft kiss on the forehead before going to fetch his medicine.

~

It takes another two weeks before Stiles is fully functional again. He still has a few bumps and bruises but thankfully all the life threatening injuries have been dealt with. Over the course of those weeks he still hadn’t regained any of his memories and Derek had promised that as soon as Peter gave him a clean bill of health he’d tell him exactly what had happened.

The discussion is greatly anticipated but Stiles is also nervous, not sure if he actually does want to know. But, after so much time deliberating, he is absolutely set on knowing. Three days before he was meant to go back to school Stiles pulls Derek into his room and sits him down on the bed while he decides to climb onto the bed to sit with his back to the wall, knees pulled up.

“So, I want to know what happened.” Stiles says gently, anticipation like a stone in his chest.

Derek’s mouth pinches but he nods, scooting further onto the bed towards his mate.

“If I tell you, you have to promise me one thing, ok?”

Stiles feels his heart beat harder and worry clings in his chest but he nods all the same.

“No matter what I tell you, no matter what you think, you are _not_ at fault. Absolutely none of what happened was your fault and was entirely the fault of Matthew Daehler. Do you understand? You are _not_ to blame yourself for what happened. You _must_ promise me that.”

Stiles swallows nervously. “I don’t know how to promise that. What if there’s more to it than even you know and some of it really _is_ my fault?”

Derek frowns harshly and pulls himself right up to his mate, pulling his face towards his so he can stare intensely into his eyes.

“I know everything that happened and I know that absolutely everything that happened was Matthew’s fault. He is a sick, twisted son of a bitch who deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life for what he did to you and others. If you can’t promise me that you won’t blame yourself and if you’re not going to trust me on this then I’m not going to tell you.”

Anger blossomed amongst the confusion and worry that had Stiles opening his mouth and saying, “That is not fair, you…”

Derek quickly silences him with a single hand over his mouth. “Stiles, stop. This is non-negotiable. Either you promise me and keep that promise or I don’t tell you. Ever. I will _not_ have you blaming yourself for the awful actions of some other person who shouldn’t occupy any more of your mind than he already does. I’ve always blamed myself for what happened with Kate. I _understand_ the feeling of wanting to punish yourself because of what someone else did but I _can’t_ watch you do that.”

The anger melts away as quickly as it had blossomed as Stiles finally understands what Derek is really saying. He gently raises his hand to place it over Derek’s and tugs it from his face.

He nods as he says, “Ok. I get it. I won’t blame myself for whatever happened. If you say that it’s Matt’s fault then I believe you.”

A look of relief passes over Derek’s face and Stiles feels a bit of anxiety leave his overwhelmed mind. Derek nods and squeezes Stiles hand before starting to explain what had happened. He starts with what he found out from Scott, then from his teachers, and finally from when Stiles had called him and everything he’d heard on the call. He’d even spoken to Matt and Garret and had learned the real extent of their bullying.

Stiles just sits there calmly and listens even though his heart is pounding and his mind is confused as it tries to recall these events that had apparently happened to Stiles. Once Derek is finally finished telling him everything they sit in silence and absorb everything Derek had just said.

“So, Matt went all psycho because my father got into his accident?” Stiles finally says after several long minutes of contemplation.

Derek nods. “This is why I made you promise not to blame yourself. You already blamed yourself for the accident even though it wasn’t your fault. What Matt did was all because of his misguided sense of justice and whatever psychotic break he suffered over the years.”

“You said that he hurt others? Who else?”

“After you were admitted to the hospital your father went with the arresting officers back to the station and had them reopen Matthew’s case and discovered that several unsolved murders that had occurred over the last few months were all on the same swim team that Matt claimed let him drown. Mr. Lahey has since been arrested for providing alcohol and drugs to minors as well as child abuse towards his son Isaac Lahey who goes to school with you.”

“Oh yeah. I remember Isaac. He’s a real quiet kid. I think he’s on the lacrosse team with Scott.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what’ll happen to him but I’m assuming he’ll be put into the foster system until he turns eighteen.”

Stiles nods. “Poor kid. I never knew.” Stiles sighs and shakes his head. “Well, do you know what’s happening to Matt and Garret?”

“Your father is in charge of the case and probably knows more than I do. Whenever you’re ready we can go see him.”

“Wait, my father’s in charge of the case? I don’t think that’s allowed. He’s just a civilian now, he doesn’t have access to any of the case files or anything anymore.”

Derek gives him a proud smile. “Actually, the new Sheriff had been stealing money from the station as well as issuing false tickets and closing files that were still under investigation meaning he was immediately fired and arrested and your father, with recommendations from the mayor and a few other interested parties, has been reinstated as a temporary Sheriff until elections are held for a new one. He’s in the running and I’m about 97% positive he’s going to win. Again.”

Stiles just stares at him speechless for another thirty seconds or so before his mouth stretches into a huge grin and he lets out a shout of overjoyed laughter. He pounces on Derek as he laughs.

“No fucking way! I don’t think this day could get any better. I was given a clean bill of health, the felons have been put away, and my father is finally getting his job back!”

Derek’s deep laughter rumbles through Stiles’ body and he’s suddenly aware that what he’s just said is a lie. This day could get way, _way_ better.

“Nope, scratch that. This day could _definitely_ get better.” Stiles wriggles happily.

Derek’s hands are already making their way up Stiles’ shirt and Stiles pushes against him until they’re lying horizontally on his bed, their feet kicking the pillows to the floor. Stiles’ smiles get in the way of his kisses but thankfully he’s not the only one as Derek’s teeth clink against his as they attempt to kiss.

The giddy smiles last until Derek gets a hand down Stiles’ pants and his mouth opens in a gasp, effectively cutting off the laughter and replaces it with moans as Derek makes quick work of their clothes. Stiles’ pants end up caught around one ankle and Derek accidently rips through part of his own shirt but between kisses they can’t find it in them to care.

Derek’s tongue sweeps into his mouth on a gasp and Stiles arches against him, pushing his hips down into Derek’s who clutches his waist and moves with him. Stiles spreads his legs so he’s straddling Derek and breaks the kiss so he can suck in a breath of air.

“Lube. Lube now. Right now. Need lube.” Stiles pants, leaning back and scrabbling at the bedside table for the lube hidden just inside the drawer.

Once his fingers clench around the tube he doesn’t even bother closing the drawer again and just flips open the lid. Derek is watching him with intense eyes, their iridescent blue flashing through the green and making them glow. Stiles sees his teeth sharpen and want pours through him and he impatiently upends the tube and squeezes far too much lube onto his fingers. Some of the cool liquid ends up sliding down his hand and dripping onto Derek’s stomach and Stiles groans.

Quickly, before anymore can spill, Stiles slips his fingers behind him and spreads the lube, pushing a finger in straight away even though he hasn’t done this in almost three weeks. Derek’s hand comes up to gentle his wrist and Stiles allows his fingers to slow, only slipping the second one in after he’s positive he can take it without any pain. The third one is even slower as he gets distracted by Derek’s face. Even though their bodies are still moving together slowly their eyes don’t leave the other’s face until Stiles has fully opened himself up so his hole is soft and slick.

Derek’s hands firmly grip Stiles’ hips and lifts him so the head of his dick is gently pressed against Stiles’ soft, grasping hole and slowly seats him on his dick one delicious inch at a time. Stiles’ eyes go half-lidded and his mouth opens up to gasp air back into his lungs and Derek’s face slackens in pleasure as Stiles finally slides down that last inch until he’s seated completely on his dick. Stiles pauses and waits for his body to adjust to Derek’s size before he begins to move his hips back and forth, grinding, not thrusting.

“Fuck Derek. You feel so much better than I remember. So big and hard and _hot_ inside of me. You reach so _deep_.” Stiles groans and places a hand against his lower belly as if he can feel the head of Derek’s dick where it’s nestled inside of him.

Derek’s body rumbles as he growls and his hands tighten once more as he lifts Stiles’ body up his dick an inch before impaling him again. Then up another couple inches and back down. Stiles reaches out a hand to steady himself and the other goes to Derek’s arm that’s holding him so he can feel the bunch of muscle beneath Derek’s skin as he moves him however he wants.

His lubed up hand manages to smack right down into the dribbles of lube that had fallen there earlier and Stiles runs the slick fluid up Derek’s stomach until he reaches his chest and quickly swipes his fingers over to a nipple, running his fingertips over the tight bud. The rumbling in Derek’s chest gets deeper and his hips start snapping up every time he pulls Stiles’ body down and Stiles gasps each time Derek punches upwards.

It feels like only seconds have passed since they’ve started by the time Stiles’ orgasm starts building deep in his stomach. As the feeling gets stronger his gasps become deeper until they turn into gasps of Derek’s name and words he’s not even sure are fully formed.

“Want your knot. Want your cum deep inside me. Derek. Need you deeper inside me. Fuck. Derek. Gonna cum. Derek! Fuck!” Stiles yells and his entire body clenches up, seizing as his orgasm punches through him in wave after wave of total ecstasy.

Derek’s fingers tighten until Stiles is sure there’ll be much appreciated bruises and Derek pulls him down hard as his hips snap up and he buries himself as deep as he’ll go and Stiles can feel the dick inside of him throb. The rim of his ass begins to stretch as Derek’s knot begins to form. The waves of pleasure still haven’t stopped and he’s not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing because on one hand he can’t feel the pain of being stretched so impossibly wide but on the other hand he can’t really feel the incredible sensation of being flooded with Derek’s cum.

Stiles is still riding high when Derek finally goes boneless beneath him and he follows suit and flops down carefully onto his lube-covered chest. They’re both breathing hard and their skin is hot and sticky from sweat and Stiles’ cum that managed to somehow make it all the way up to Derek’s cheek.

“That. Was. Amazing.” Stiles panted and lifted his head just enough to kiss Derek’s slack mouth.

Derek’s answer was somewhere along the lines of, “Mmm, Stiles.” But anything past that was undistinguishable. They lay there for many long minutes before Stiles finally had to pry his skin away from Derek’s before it became too painful to do so.

“We’re going to have a field day in the shower.” Stiles mutters and starts picking at the drying cum on his front torso.

“We weren’t really prepared.” Derek chuckles. “But I think a shower is a _great_ idea for afterwards.”

Stiles snorts and shakes his head. “Put your knees up so I can lean back.” Stiles demands and Derek immediately obeys.

They’re stuck for another thirty minutes and in that time Stiles manages to cum once more before the knot finally starts to deflate. Derek has to carry him to the shower since he’s still practically boneless from the intense sex. They don’t do anything except kiss and clean up in the shower since Stiles’ body really isn’t up to that much activity (despite his protests) and Derek makes sure that once Stiles is completely clean and dried he’s back in bed to rest.

“Dude, I practically slept all three weeks, how the hell am I this tired after only a little bit of activity?”

“First of all, that was not a ‘little bit’ of activity, that was almost an hour of sex with a werewolf. Second of all, your body is still recovering and it isn’t used to as much labor anymore, you’ll have to work yourself back up to the condition you were before. Now shut up and sleep. I’ll wake you up in a while for lunch.”

Stiles yawns and nods. “Kind of want you to stay though.”

Derek smiles and nods. He pulls back the blankets and climbs into the bed with his naked mate and pulls him close so their entire bodies are touching.

“You know, if I weren’t so satisfied and tired I’d totally spring another boner.” Stiles chuckles.

Derek smiles and kisses his forehead. “When you wake up we’ll see about another round. For now just take a nap.”

Stiles nods and buries his face into Derek’s chest, breathing in the scent of his mate and easily drifting off to sleep.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't really stop writing after the last chapter so I'm just gonna post this one now. This is the last chapter before the epilogue which I am in the process of writing now. I'm also working on several other Teen Wolf fics starring my favorite duo: Stiles and Derek. Of course. It'll be rated Explicit per usual since I absolutely love their pornographic pairing. So, please look for those as soon as they come out! Thank you so much for all of the comments and kudos I've been receiving, they make everything I write so much more worth it and helps keep me inspired as I write these long stories.

When Stiles finally goes back to school he feels better than he has since the crash. The phantom pains in his side have finally subsided and he finally feels safe going back to school. His best friend Scott is there to greet him as Derek drops him off and they hug like they haven’t seen each other in years. There may even be tears but if there are they keep it to themselves.

“Dude, you missed Thanksgiving!” Scott reprimands mockingly as they mosey down the hallways before the first bell.

Stiles just shrugs. “Oddly enough I’m totally ok with that right now. I feel like nothing in the world matters at all.”

Scott smiles and nods. “Good for you man. So… Derek Hale. How’s that going for you?”

Stiles rolls his eyes, his smile never leaving his face. “Fan-fucking-tastic. Literally. There is so much fucking, like, I’m not even sure you and Allison can keep up. It’s, like, _constant_.” Stiles overshares and is promptly rewarded with Scott’s ‘ew’ face.

“Dude, no, just…no. I _do not_ need to know that.”

“Oh sweet revenge, how great you are.” Stiles laughs as he rubs his hands together. “I am going to repay you for every single overshare you’ve given me.”

Scott groans and Stiles smiles cheekily all the way to his first class. Thankfully this return to school goes a _lot_ smoother than his last and he completes every one of his classes, normal and supplementary, without a hitch. Lunch is a fanfare of his friends telling him how glad they are he’s back and that they’re glad he’s not dead. Even Jackson is there with a short, slightly too rough pat on the back.

On his way out the front door after his last supplementary class Lydia and Allison are waiting for him near the front doors and Stiles can see Scott and Derek having a talk next to his parked car while Jackson is pretending not to eavesdrop only a few feet away. Lydia and Allison flank him and pull him off to the left a little.

“Ok, so you missed Thanksgiving so we couldn’t hang out and tell you our plans for you for Christmas.” Lydia says as soon as they’ve stopped walking.

Stiles goes still and stares at them. “Uh, please tell me you aren’t going where I think you’re going…” Stiles begs.

The two girls smile at each other before turning those wicked grins on him.

“We got you the cutest Santa outfit that we found online on the same site as before. We used your measurements from last time to pick out some new stockings and a pair of cute shoes. Also, we bought you _two_ razors this time since you completely choked out the last one with all that man furr.” Lydia says, pointing at his currently hidden legs.

“Uuuuuuuhhh…” Stiles groans. “No way. Absolutely _not_ happening. Once was enough for one lifetime. I don’t even understand how girls can do that every single damn time they shower. It takes for-freaking-ever.”

“If you keep them shaved it doesn’t take as long.” Allison says helpfully.

Lydia nods and says with a smirk, “Besides, the outfit worked at Halloween, didn’t it?”

Stiles groans again but this time quieter, his gaze darting over to where Derek is staring at him despite the fact that Scott was still talking. His face heats up and he immediately looks away before he can pop a boner at this incredibly inappropriate time.

Lydia’s smirk grows. “That’s what I thought. Do you want to come over to my place to get ready again or are you ok with doing it at your place this time?”

“Uh…I’ll…” Stiles blows out a long breath as he thinks through the unexpected turn of events. “Fuck. Fine, I’ll just do it at my place. It’ll be far less embarrassing that way.”

Allison nods. “I have the outfit in my car right now if you want to see it.”

Stiles starts to shake his head but pauses before giving a single, reluctant nod. “Ok, fine, but I’m not taking it home yet. I don’t want anyone else to see it.” He mumbles.

Allison gives a small laugh before she and Lydia lead him over to her car parked a few spaces down. She pops open the trunk and pulls out a hanger with plastic covering the fabric inside. Quickly they lift the plastic out of the way to reveal an outfit that Stiles isn’t sure can be _called_ an outfit.

“Uh, oh, ok, wow. I don’t think I’ll fit into that. There’s, like, _nothing_ to it! Where are the pants?! This is _not_ a Santa outfit!”

“No, you’re right. It’s a Mrs. Clause outfit but since it’ll be going on _you_ it’s a Santa outfit. We could always take it back and get the elf one that we saw if you want Derek to play Santa instead.”

“Geez, fuck no. Uh… Ok, ok, I’ll figure it out. Uh…I don’t actually know how to put that on. Why is there so much lace?! Is that fluff?!”

“Because it’s a _sexy_ Mrs. Clause. Duh. Don’t worry, it has a coat to go with it so you don’t have to reveal the lace right away.”

Stiles groans and wipes his hands over his face. “You know, I don’t know whether to curse you or thank you.”

“I’d go with a thank you since we _did_ spend almost one hundred and fifty dollars putting everything you’ll need together. I’ll write down everything we got you and the order you’ll need to do everything so that there’s as little time wasted as possible. Last time you shaved you took way too long.”

“Uh…ok.” Stiles says, totally lost on how to handle this out of hand situation.

“At least this time we’re not making you put on a bunch of make-up.” Allison says as she rewraps the outfit and closes the trunk. “We only got you some chapstick.”

“It’s peppermint so that it fits with the Christmas theme.” Lydia interjects. “You _have_ to use it. It’s the only make-up requirement this time.”

“Well, if it’s only that then I guess it’s ok.” Stiles mumbles and follows the girls back towards the silent males.

Stiles raises an eyebrow at Scott who’s frowning hard at Derek.

“Your boyfriend is kind of a dick Stiles.” Scott grumbles.

Stiles chuckles and nods. “I’ll have to agree with you there buddy but he’s my dick and I’m sure he’d say the same about me.”

“Absolutely.” Derek says quietly, a smile on his face.

“Cool. Well, uh, Lydia, text me the list whenever and I’ll memorize it before hand.”

“Perfect! Come on Jackson, I need to feed Prada. See you tomorrow Allison!”

Allison waves goodbye and turns back to Scott. “Speaking of which, time for us to go too.”

“Right! Uh, ok. Stiles, buddy, I’ll see you tomorrow, right? No almost dying _again_. Promise dude.” Scott demands.

Stiles smiles and leans into Derek’s warmth. “Promise bro. I’ve got Mr. Grumpy over here to protect me if anything happens.”

Derek’s arm wraps around his waist and Stiles looks up to see him scowling at Scott even though it’s not a harsh scowl, just his default scowl. Stiles elbows him to draw his attention before waving goodbye to Scott and Allison. Once they’re gone Stiles pats Derek’s hand and detangles himself to climb into the passenger seat of the Camaro.

“Dude, no need to go hostile on Scott. He’s my best friend and despite whatever he said he only has the best intentions.”

“I know. I just wanted to make sure you were safe at school. I think he’s a great friend. A little stupid but good.”

Stiles lets out a burst of laughter at the unexpected half compliment towards his best friend. “Well, I can’t argue with you there. When it comes to Allison or overtly complicated things he’s a little dumb but he’s really protective of his friends so you don’t have to worry.”

Derek nods in answer and they drive on for a few miles in silence before he speaks again. “What worries me is that you were going through all of this alone when he claims to be your best friend, saying he’s always got your back. Why wasn’t he there for you when everything happened? I know his mother is a nurse at the hospital. All it’d have taken was a little bit of effort on his part and he could have been there for you.”

Stiles bites his lips and gives a small nod. “Yeah, about that. I, uh… When it comes to the crash I was in a bad place, still kind of am. I just… there’s so much guilt and if Scott knew about it… I just can’t. I couldn’t let him know. He’d have wanted to help and neither him nor his mother have the money to take care of me _and_ my dad and if they’d known they’d have taken out a second mortgage on their house and… I just couldn’t let them do that. It was my fault that everything happened and I couldn’t do that to them too.” Stiles gives a bitter laugh. “I was actually quite surprised myself when Melissa wasn’t the one I was waking up to in the hospital. I guess those doctors did a really good job at hiding the fact that we were there.”

Derek is silent for a long time after Stiles finishes speaking. For a few minutes Stiles thinks that Derek might even be mad at _him_ but after taking a few stealthy glances he sees thoughtfulness, not anger. Stiles doesn’t interrupt the silence and lets Derek do that a few minutes later.

“Are you ever going to tell them what really happened? I’m assuming they still don’t know the whole story.”

“Well, Matt had managed to get the story into the papers so there must have been some word of it floating around but I don’t actually know if they know what happened. I did my best to keep out of contact with them and with Scott being at the lacrosse event almost all summer it wasn’t very hard. Whenever Melissa or Scott would drop by I wouldn’t answer the door and since I only used my phone and computer for work it was pretty easy not to answer any of the messages or calls that came my way. After a while they just stopped coming and I didn’t really think anything of it.”

Derek nods and pulls into the driveway of his house, the car bumping along the rough gravel. “Well, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. If I have my way you’ll never have to work another day in your life.”

Stiles rolls his eyes. “I don’t know if you have to go _that_ far but that sounds good. At least for the time being. But about Scott and Melissa, I’ll tell them when I think the time is right. With my father maybe getting his job back I think things’ll start to settle soon and maybe after things are stable for a while I might think about telling them everything.” Stiles chuckles humorlessly. “I have a _lot_ of apologizing to do.”

“Apologizing for lying and avoiding them, yes. Apologizing for what happened to you, absolutely not.” Derek says sternly as they climb out of the car.

Stiles sighs and follows his mate inside, closing the door against the chill behind them.

“By the way, what were you and the girls talking about in the parking lot?” Derek asks as he shrugs off his coat.

Stiles blushes and stalls by taking his backpack to his room and disrobing his scarf and coat and chucking his shoes into the corner by his bed. “Uh… It was just a little thing they have planned for December and wanted my opinion on it. Couldn’t you hear our conversation with your wolfy hearing?”

Derek comes up behind him as he’s fidgeting with his bed’s comforter and wraps him in his warm arms, pressing his equally warm body all along his back. “I could have but I have more respect for you than that. I trust that you’ll tell me if I ask.”

Stiles’ heart skips a beat. “Then trust that you’ll definitely find out in time. It’s only a secret for another month or so.”

Derek buries his face into the crease of Stiles’ neck and inhales deeply before exhaling hotly against his skin. Goosebumps break across Stiles’ skin and he shivers, his face heating up.

“Ok. I’ll wait.” Derek says and kisses his neck.

“G-good. ‘Cause you’ll find out soon enough.” Stiles’ stumbles over his words as his heart kicks up in his chest.

Before his dick can get in on the program his stomach gives an embarrassingly loud growl and Derek chuckles.

“Want me to make you something?”

Stiles blushes and nods. “Yeah, I think that might be a good idea. Food first, sex later. Or both! We haven’t done that yet!”

Derek’s laughter rumbles through his body and Stiles puts both his feet onto Derek’s so he can walk them both out of the room like the goofs they are. Derek sucks hickeys into the back of Stiles’ neck until they reach the kitchen and he finally lets go of the bruised skin so he can start making them some food.

“I don’t think I’d be able to focus on food if I was buried inside of you.”

The words send heat through Stiles and he curses. “Stupid stomach. Why you gotta ruin the moment?”

Together they manage to whip up about a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches and some tomato soup and spend the next half hour trying not to jump one another from across the table. But as soon as the last dish is put into the dishwasher Stiles jumps on Derek, his legs around his waist and they make their way to Derek’s room where they burn all those consumed calories for the next two hours.


	34. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long year. Thank you all for sticking with me throughout this entire fic. Who woulda thunk it that my initial idea of just having Stiles dress up as a maid for Derek would turn into this gigantic fic? I'm pretty happy about where it ended up though, I hope all of you are too. Thank you so much for every kudos and especially every comment, they've really helped me get through this fic. I hope yalls stick around for my next fics which will be in the same category as this one: Explicit, Teen Wolf, Derek&Stiles, etc. Thank you and I love alls of yalls! ~hearts~

“No, that’s the arm hole, not the head hole. Come on Stiles, use your head! Look, you can clearly see that this particular piece of clothing _has no leg holes_. It should _not_ be this complicated!” Lydia reprimands impatiently.

Stiles grumbles under his breath as he struggles to get the red, lacey fabric over his head with his arms in the right holes. They’ve been working on getting Stiles outfitted for about an hour now and the girls were starting to get impatient with him. He’d already showered and shaved _everywhere_ and has the red fishnet stocking with the white fuzz and red bows at the top pulled up to the tops of his thighs. His ass is _barely_ covered by the tiny, red boyshorts they managed to find ‘in his size’ that felt like they were two sizes two small. Now it’s just the stupid dress thing and shoes left.

“You’ve got to know how to put everything on before tomorrow. I have plans later tonight so you’d better hurry the fuck up.” Lydia hisses at him as she pulls the bottom of the dress down with Allison helping Stiles find the right holes for his arms.

“It’d go quicker if you didn’t find the laciest, most confusing piece of cloth to put me in.” Stiles grumbles right on back.

He gets a swift pinch in the ass that has him yelping before he’s finally able to pull his head through the top hole and his arms slide where they’re supposed to. The stupid, red lacey _thing_ only comes down to cover just below his ass.

“The fuck?! Why is it so short?!” Stiles complains as he twists uselessly, trying to see his ass.

“Because it makes your ass look fabulous and it shows just that bit of bare thigh between the top of the stockings. Now, pull the coat on as I undo the straps on the shoes.” Lydia says and Stiles knows better than to argue.

That doesn’t stop him from complaining under his breath as he pulls the soft, velvety coat over his shoulders and pulls the large belt closed across his waist. Lydia pushes him back onto the bed and she and Allison quickly slip the shoes onto his feet, strapping them around the ankles. He’s gotta admit, the shoes are sexy as hell. They’re a bright red, velvety material with a wedge instead of stiletto and the strap around his ankle has a small bow a little off center towards his outer ankle bones.

“Ok, now go look in the full length mirror.” Lydia commands, pointing across the room.

Stiles stands slowly. With the heels on he’s about an inch or so taller but it feels like a freaking mile. He manages to wobble his way towards the mirror and as soon as he looks up he feels both a sense of embarrassment and pride. He looks like a fucking sex worker and it’s _hot_.

“Dude, I look like a hooker.” He grumbles.

“No, you look like a boyfriend trying to please his man. You look like a star now shut up and open the coat.” Lydia demands.

Stiles pulls a face. “That sounds like I’m that creepy pervert in the trench coat in the parks at midnight going around flashing people.”

“Nice imagery now open the coat.”

Stiles does as he’s told and undoes the belt so he can see what the lacey thing looks like on his body. It’s actually not that bad. Well, it wouldn’t be if he weren’t so embarrassed by the sight of him in the girly dress. The thing hugs his shape and hints at skin between the lace. He can see his underwear beneath the fabric that is slightly looser around his waist and the dress actually makes his flat chest look _good_.

“Uh… Well… I wouldn’t have chosen it myself but in light of circumstances I think that it’s alright… I guess.”

“’You guess’. Whatever. You look hot and you know it. Derek won’t even know what hit him. Well, actually, he will and he’s going to love it. Now, go take it all off so you don’t somehow ruin it within the next ten minutes.”

Stiles pulls a weeping face but does as she says and within twenty minutes he’s managed to wrestle the offending fabric off and he’s back into his normal clothes. His legs feel odd and bare against the surprisingly rough fabric of his jeans and he grimaces as he walks out of the bathroom.

“Well, now that you know how it all works you can take it all home and put it on when you’re ready tomorrow.” Lydia says and stands up from her perch on the end of her bed. “ _Don’t_ wimp out on me.” She commands with a threatening point of her finger.

Stiles just smiles and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I promise.”

Lydia smiles and Allison quickly puts the outfit back into its proper place on the hanger, in the box, where ever each piece went and hands the amalgamation to Stiles who balances it precariously as he’s pushed out of the house by Lydia. Allison herds him into her car while Lydia climbs into her own and she waves goodbye as she peels out before they make it to the street in a much calmer manner.

“So, are you nervous?” Allison asks after a few calming breaths have passed.

Stiles shrugs. “Kind of? It’s weird. I mean, I never even thought about dressing to impress before Derek. With Lydia she never even looked at me so I just gave up after a couple years. But after Halloween, after… _that_ it was… pretty great so I’m not _too_ nervous. It’s just…I’m covered in scars and I know it doesn’t bother anyone but me but it’s still something I’m self-conscious about no matter how many times he’s seen them. Then to go and put on something ridiculous makes it _feel_ ridiculous…”

Allison is smiling when he finally peters off. “Stiles, you have absolutely _nothing_ to worry about when it comes to Derek. I have never, ever in my life seen a man more in love and that includes with my mom and dad and me and Scott. It’s like… you’re his whole _world_. It’s kind of crazy.”

Stiles feels like his heart has just melted into warm goo in his chest. “Heh, yeah. I, uh, I kind of love him too. Like _a lot_. It’s kind of crazy how in love with that man I really am. Wow, love is weird. I thought I loved Lydia before but then there was Derek and suddenly…wow.”

Allison laughs and Stiles feels his cheeks heat. “Yeah, I gotcha. Love is pretty awesome. Now, when we get to your place are you just going to waltz in with those packages or are you doing to sneak them in?”

“I’ve been thinking about that but I think I’m just gonna waltz right on in with them since he already knows I’ve got a surprise for him I just haven’t let him know exactly what it is. If I just come on in with the boxes he won’t look into them if I ask him not too. He’s pretty cool about that.”

“He sounds like he’s perfect for you. You two are so completely made for each other. He’s all calm to your crazy.”

Stiles snorts. “That is only half true. I’d go into detail but Scott made me swear to leave you out of my revenge.”

Allison gives him an odd look. “Revenge?”

Stiles full on laughs. “He hasn’t told you?! Oh man! Well, I won’t ruin that for you two. You guys are going to have to talk about that on your own! For now I’ll stick with pestering my own man.”

Allison rolls her eyes. “Whatever.” She says but it’s with a smile.

They pull up to the house ten minutes later and Stiles gathers his things before bidding her goodbye. When he turns towards the front door Derek is already there holding the door open for him.

“Are those for me?”

“Nope! Well, not yet. It’s part of the whole Christmas thing so you’ll have to wait for tomorrow.”

“Are you sure? I mean, there’s no harm in opening a present a little early.”

“Christmas Eve is tomorrow, you _have_ to wait. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.” Stiles says sternly as he puts the boxes in his closet and slides the door firmly shut.

Derek is two inches from his face when he turns around and he gives him a little peck on the lips before dodging around him. They play cat and mouse for a few more minutes before Stiles gives in and they have a long make out session on the couch.

~

“Fuck. Shit! Damn it!” Stiles curses at the cloth as it goes over his head.

He’s being very careful with the material so he doesn’t tear it in anyway. It’s pretty elastic and stretches rather easily but the material is so lacey and confusing that he doesn’t want to chance tearing it. It takes a full three minutes to get it completely over his head with his arms in the right place and finally situated on his body where it’s supposed to be. Once that’s finally on he breathes out a sigh of relief before picking up the stockings.

The thin, red fishnets slide up his smooth legs easily until he’s pulling the bows and white fluff almost to the tops of his thighs where they rest against his pale skin. Next is the fluffy Santa coat which actually only falls to just below the lacey end of the dress. He’d put the lacey panties on first so he’s not completely nude but standing there in front of Derek’s bathroom mirror he feels ridiculous. Finally he manages to slip his feet into the shoes and buckle them with only little difficulty from his cold, shaking fingers.

Gritting his teeth he puts the plush Santa hat on his head and pops open the peppermint chapstick he promised Lydia he’d wear. The balm is chilling and makes his lips tingle and he’s not sure if he likes it or not. It’s certainly interesting. He also has the bag of extras that Lydia said was for Derek which he’s not supposed to open. He’s sorely tempted but he’s too afraid of what Lydia might do if she found out…which she would because she’s Lydia.

It’s five minutes until midnight and Stiles’ heart feels like it’s about to beat out of his chest. What if it’s too much? What if Derek thinks it’s ridiculous and just laughs at him? This is going to be the stupidest Christmas present ever.

There’s a gentle knock on the door that startles Stiles.

“Stiles? You alright in there?”

“Uh, yeah! Just a second. I’ll be out in a minutes. Just wait on the bed and I’ll be right out!” Stiles calls back, voice probably way too loud and an octave or two too high.

Taking a deep breath he pushes his clothes he just changed out of into the corner of the bathroom and picks up the bag. He holds the bag in front of him and pulls the coat closed so he isn’t showing anything but his stocking clad legs and shoes. After another two deep breaths he slowly opens the door and turns off the light before stepping out of the safety of the bathroom.

Stiles takes about three steps before stopping, face blushing furiously and eyes focused on the carpet at his feet. Silence reigns for all of ten seconds, every one of which Stiles regrets immensely, before there’s a shuffle of cloth and a soft groan. Finally Stiles lifts his eyes to see Derek staring at him with one of the most intense expressions he’s ever seen on the man. Derek’s hands are in fists at his sides and he’s leaning forward on the bed towards Stiles as if he’s ready to launch himself at the boy.

“Uh…Is it stupid? I totally look stupid don’t I? Stupid Lydia and Allison have the _worst_ ideas and…” he doesn’t get to finish his sentence because all of a sudden Derek is standing right there, his eyes staring directly into his thanks to the slight height gain from the heels.

“You look fucking fantastic.” Derek growls, his eyes flashing blue.

Stiles feels warmth pool in his stomach and his heart beats even harder in his chest. Their mouths are only inches apart and Derek’s hands are now gripping his waist tightly and pulling him towards his body.

“I am going to _devour_ you.”

The words rumble through Stiles’ body and make him shiver, goosebumps breaking out all over his skin. There’s an overwhelming amount of relief that floods through his body before it’s replaced with lust.

“Yes _please_. The sooner you get me out of this ridiculous outfit the better.” Stiles pleads.

Derek just shakes his head and leans forward those two inches and presses his mouth hard against Stiles’. The kiss is hot and rough from start to finish with a lot of teeth and tongue and when he finally pulls back to gasp in air his lips feel almost bruised.

“I am going to unwrap you slowly. I want to see everything you have hidden under that coat of yours and whatever is in that bag.” Derek grins wickedly.

Stiles smiles just as wickedly back before pulling the bag out from between their bodies and holding it up.

“This is actually a present from Lydia to you. I don’t know what’s in it since she told me not to look.”

Derek raises one eyebrow but lets go of Stiles’ hip with one hand to grasp the bag. He walks them backwards until they get to the bed where he sits down and pulls Stiles on top of him. Stiles’ legs spread so he can straddle Derek’s lap and he blushes as his underwear rides up into places he’s not really comfortable with.

“What in the world could Lydia have _possible_ gotten for me? She doesn’t even know me.” Derek mumbles as he pulls the bag into the space between them and unknots the top.

Derek peers in and Stiles tries to look too but can’t really see in the dim lighting.

“What is it? What’d she give you?”

Derek lets out a chuckle and reaches into the bag and retrieves the two items before tossing the bag away. In his hands are one box of twenty-four condoms and a rather large thing of candy cane lube.

“What the _fuck_?!” Stiles squeaks and reaches for the objects but they’re quickly pulled out of his reach.

“No way, these are _my_ presents. I don’t know about the condoms though. Do you want to use them?”

Stiles blushes and fidgets. “Uhh… Well, I mean, if you _want_ to we can. I’m not _against_ the idea.”

Derek’s hot palm slides against his cheek and lifts his face up so he’s looking into his eyes again. “I want your honest opinion. If you want them we can use them, if you don’t we don’t have to.”

“Honestly, I don’t really want to use them but I understand the necessity of them. I mean, they make for easier clean up and…stuff.”

“Great! I didn’t want to use them either.” Derek tosses the box away and sets the lube down beside him on the bed. “I much prefer being able to feel your tight, wet heat wrapping around my dick and gripping it so tight it’s like it’ll never let go. I like being able to feel every single twitch you make on every inch of my dick.”

Stiles groans and arches his body towards Derek, his cock filling in his panties. It’s a weird sensation that makes him shiver. He feels exposed and the filthy words Derek is whispering to him make ache to have him buried deep inside his ass.

“Fuck yes. I want to feel it when you cum inside me. It always feels like you’re filling me to the brim with a hot ocean of cum. And when you pull out and it’s no longer held inside by your knot and it just floods down my thighs.” Stiles groans and wraps his arms around Derek’s shoulders, pulling himself further onto his lap and grinding his filling dick against Derek’s pajama pants where his own dick is tenting upwards.

“Fuck Stiles. I’m going to see what you have underneath this coat and if I can I’m going to fuck you with you still in it.”

Stiles whimpers and nods before pulling Derek in for another messy kiss. Derek’s fingers tug at the belt of the coat and once it’s undone he pulls back from the kiss to watch as he pulls the coat open. Stiles blushes furiously and is about to cover himself but Derek groans and pulls the coat off of his shoulders so it drops to the floor. The dress is incredibly lacey so Derek can see every inch of his pale skin through the red fabric. The straps are a little askew across his shoulder with one falling down and the V of the neck draws attention to the supple shape of his chest. The tight waist accentuates his hips above the flare of the bottom which is currently cinched up his thighs and lewdly showing off the bulge in his red panties.

“Holy shit Stiles. You look so fucking sexy.” Derek curses and runs his hands down Stiles’ sides, feeling the soft material gently move across Stiles’ smooth skin. “Stand up. I want to see every angle.”

Stiles immediately obeys and stands on slightly unsteady feet. His groin is at eye level for Derek and he desperately wants to adjust himself so his drooling boner isn’t as obvious. It’s no use though because Derek’s already seen it. Derek’s hands guide him by gently turning him. Stiles shivers as Derek’s hot hands smooth down his thighs and back up once his back is turned. Those gentle hands steady him once again once his ass is towards Derek.

“You smell so clean. Is that what took you so long?” Derek asks and Stiles startles when Derek’s fingers pull aside the panties, giving Derek a great view of his ass.

“I, uh, no, that was only a part of it…I was nervous. I didn’t want to rip any of the fabric and I wasn’t sure if you’d think this was really stupid, eep!”

Stiles clamps his hand over his mouth at the embarrassing noise that came out when Derek buries his face into Stiles’ ass. Stiles pants and leans forward a little so that Derek had better access to his hole. Immediately Derek’s tongue presses against the rim and Stiles gasps, his free hand reaching back to clamp onto the wrist of one of the hands pulling his cheeks apart.

“D-Derek! These shoes aren’t that steady!” Stiles gasps, his knees already wobbling.

Derek pulls back long enough to say, “So take them off.” Before diving right back in.

Stiles shivers and moans as he carefully leans over further and Derek’s hands grip him tighter to help him keep his balance while maintaining their hold of his ass cheeks. Stiles manages to reach one of the straps and with shaky hands undoes the buckle. Quickly he undoes the other one before stepping out of them. Derek follows him down those two inches and Stiles groans when Derek’s tongue finally pushes past the softened ring of muscle.

“Derek!” Stiles gasps and reaches back to run his fingers through Derek’s hair and grasp a handful.

Derek’s beard roughly rubs against his sensitive skin but Stiles only finds it more and more arousing as he thinks about how he’s going to feel that for quite a few days after this. He desperately wants to get a hand on his dick but he knows he’ll cum in two seconds flat if he does that.

“Derek! As much as I love your tongue I _really_ want your dick inside me.” Stiles manages to pant out breathlessly.

Derek makes a happy rumbling noise and gets in another few jabs of his tongue before he pulls back. Stiles straightens up and looks behind him to see the beautiful sight of Derek with his mouth all shiny with saliva and his pupils absolutely blown. Derek turns him around and pulls him close, this time putting his mouth on his dick under his dress but through his panties and his finger make its way to his hole and gently prods before pushing the tip inside.

Stiles’ body shakes and he hunches over Derek’s head. It feels like Derek is pulling out all of his tricks tonight and if this is only the first fifteen minutes then he can’t even begin to imagine what’s in store for the rest of the night.

Derek takes him time with Stiles like this. His mouth gently sucks on the tip of his dick through the panties, enough to give stimulation but not enough to make him cum. His finger slowly makes its way into his body bit by bit and only aided with his saliva so it’s still kind of dry but not enough to hurt. After about five minutes of this Stiles is shaking and gasping and panting out Derek’s name over and over. It’s only when he feels like he’s about to cum from the slow stimulation that Derek finally pulls back.

“I want you to ride me.” Derek pants, his voice gravelly and thick.

Stiles nods enthusiastically, ready for anything at this point. Derek quickly tugs off his shirt and Stiles pounces on him, tugging at his pants and pulls them and his underwear off, leaving Derek naked in no time flat. Stiles feels incredibly erotic as he climbs onto Derek with his clothes still on. He goes to pull his dress off but Derek’s hand still him.

“Leave your clothes on. I’m going to knot you with your panties still on.”

Just the thought of that, the image of it flashing through his mind has Stiles nodding and panting, so impossibly excited. Stiles grabs the lube from beside him and tries to open it but the safety wrapping on the lid has his clumsy fingers stumped. Derek gently takes the bottle and flicks a claw over the plastic, effectively removing it. But he doesn’t hand it back. Instead he opens the bottle and immediately a wave of candy cane scent crashes over Stiles.

“Oh…” he says shakily, “That’s gonna be fun.”

Derek grins up at him and pours a generous amount into his palm before sitting up and closing the bottle, putting it back down onto the bed before wrapping his arms around Stiles and pulling him forward so he’s pressed against Stiles’ chest and his fingers can once again spread apart his ass cheeks.

Stiles gasps loudly at the first touch of the cold gel before groaning as the peppermint effects his already sensitive skin. As Derek rubs it into the skin around his hole he already feels the tingle of it making his skin all the more sensitive. By the time Derek finally pushes two fingers into him he feels like he’s going to die of blue balls.

“Derek! Hurry up. I feel like I’m either going to shoot off at any second or I’m going to possibly die of blue balls.”

Derek chuckles and presses kisses into his hips as he slides his fingers in and out of him. The cooling gel makes his insides feel tingly and he’s not sure if that’s a good feeling or not. As soon as Derek’s fingers skate across his prostate the decision is firmly taken out of his hands because holy _fuck_ that feels good!

“Fuck! Who the hell though of candy cane lube?! It’s like sensory overload!” Stiles gasps.

“Is that good or bad? Do you want me to stop and use our normal lube?”

“Hell no! This is amazing. It’s like every sensation is turned up to eleven. You’ll see as soon as you put some on your dick. It’s like whatever cooling effect is in peppermint is making everything more sensitive, it’s _amazing_.” Stiles praises and runs his hands through Derek’s hair, letting his head fall back as Derek’s fingers continue to slick him up and stretch him out.

Once four fingers can fit comfortably in Stiles’ ass Derek removes his fingers, making Stiles groan loudly and try to chase his fingers before catching himself. There’s the sound of Derek opening the lube again, squirting a good amount into his palm, and flicking the cap shut again and finally Stiles can hear the sound of Derek slicking up his cock. Derek inhales a gasp of shock and Stiles laughs.

“See what I’m talking about? It’s pretty fucking neat. Now hurry up and get your dick inside of me before I go crazy.”

“You’re so poetic.” Derek chuckles before pulling back just a bit to position himself.

Stiles jolts at the first touch of Derek’s dick before letting himself sink onto his cock, engulfing the whole thing in one go. Derek groans and Stiles echoes him, feeling absolutely stuffed with cock.

“Fuck, Derek. Your dick feels amazing!” Stiles pants and rocks back and forth.

Derek rumbles his agreement and Stiles smiles as he puts his hands flat on Derek’s chest and pushing until the werewolf lies completely down on the bed.

“Now enjoy your present.” Stiles huffs and braces his legs on the bed and his hands on Derek’s stomach and begins a gentle bouncing rhythm, barely lifting half an inch off of him before falling back down again and again.

Stiles gently teases them as his body fully adjusts to the enormous cock inside of him. The lube seems to make everything feel one hundred times sharper and it’s one of the best things he’s ever felt in his life. Actually, he’s not sure how long he’s going to last feeling like this. Realizing this he finally lifts himself until Derek’s almost slipping out of him and falls back down, shoving Derek’s dick as deep as it’ll go. Stiles groans and does it again.

Derek runs his hands up Stiles’ thighs and pulls the stockings down past his knees so he can feel the smooth skin of his thighs, rubbing his hands back and forth before gripping his legs and starting to lift his hips as well.

“I said…enjoy your…present.” Stiles huffs.

“I am.” Derek growls, eyes now permanently blue and his teeth just a little bit sharper.

Stiles yelps as Derek begins to shove his hips up roughly whenever he’s lowering himself. Everything feels amazing and the feeling of being filled over and over again has Stiles’ dick bobbing out of his panties so the head is sticking above the elastic obscenely. He’d be embarrassed if Derek didn’t look at it like he wanted to swallow it down every time it bounced with his every movement.

“Derek! I’m going to cum! It feels…amazing! So good! Your dick goes so deep…I can feel it…in my stomach!”

“Fuck, Stiles! Want to fill you, knot you so tight. Pump you so full of cum you’ll leak it for _days_.”

“Yes! Want your cum! So much of it!” Stiles cries, his orgasm is building with alarming speed from his groin and spreading throughout his body. “Want to be…stretched tight…around your knot! Fuck!”

Derek’s dick begins to swell at the base and starts catching on the rim of his ass with every solid pound. Stiles’ legs are beginning to shake and his movements are faltering so Derek sits up quickly and wraps his arms around Stiles, manually lifting him on and off his cock as it continues to swell. Stiles is crying out non-stop as each pound forces him wider and fuller.

Soon Derek’s dick becomes too large to take out and he shoves upwards twice more, driving the knot directly into Stiles’ prostate and Stiles lets out a loud yell as his entire body seizes up and he’s cumming without touching his cock. Ropes and ropes of cum spill through the fabric of the dress and onto Derek’s chest and the scent and feeling of his mate cumming has Derek punching his hips up and burying his dick as far as it’ll go inside of Stiles and he’s cumming hard as well. Stiles clutches Derek desperately as the waves of his orgasm makes him feel like he’s about to pass out. Thankfully Derek chooses that moment to kiss him hard, keeping him conscious enough to sloppily kiss back.

They slowly rock together for a couple of minutes as they ride the bliss of their orgasms together, kissing each other gently and smiling goofily at one another. It’s Stiles who inevitably breaks the breathy silence.

“I can feel it every time you cum inside me.” He says quietly, still a little breathless.

There’s another pulse inside of him and Derek’s body shakes under his hands. “You feel so damn good Stiles. So good. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. So much.”

Stiles smiles and kisses him again and again, slow presses of lips and tongue, gentle nips of teeth. After another five minutes Derek scoots them up the bed until he can lean against the many pillows and pulls his legs up for Stiles to lean against.

“I’m going to make you cum again and again until my knot goes down. Then we’ll take a break to eat something and then I’m going to knot you again.” Derek promises and grins when Stiles’ body clenches down on him and the fresh scent of arousal is released into the air.

“Promise?” Stiles asks coyly and isn’t disappointed when Derek smiles and cups his cheek to kiss him enthusiastically.

Four hours and two knots later they finally collapse exhausted into Stiles’ bed since Derek’s is absolutely filthy. Derek’s third and final knot is still lodged up tight inside of him and Derek’s gently cleaning up the tiny bits of cum that Stiles managed to produce in that last orgasm.

“Ok, ok. Tired. Sleep. Need.” Stiles groans out, his voice cracking with exhaustion and satisfaction.

All Derek says is, “Mmhmm…” and Stiles smiles.

His stomach is so full and he feels so warm and beyond happy. Everything is right now and there is nothing more he could ever want.

“Merry Christmas.” He whispers.

Derek leans over and kisses him tenderly and says, “Merry Christmas Stiles.”


End file.
